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EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



"0 EGYPT! EGYPT!"— As it is said in one oh- the Hermetic 
Books, — " Fables alone will be thy future history ; wholly in- 
credible TO LATER GENERATIONS And NAUGHT BUT THE LETTER 

OK THY STONE-ENGRAVED MONUMENTS WILL SURVIVE." 

Chev. Bunsen. 




GEO. P PUTNAM. 155, BROAD WAf NEW YORK AND 49, BOW LANE, CHEAPS IDE , LONDON 



] 



SKETCHES OF TRAVEL 



IN 

EGYPT AO THE HOLY LAID 



REV. J. A. SPENCER, M. A. 

ACTH0R OF "THE CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED EDITOR OF " THE NEW TESTAMENT IN 
GREEK. WITH NOTES ON THE HISTORICAL BOOKS;" MEMBER OF THE 
NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ETC., ETC. 



fsltflatitlij ElhistratfO from ©tifltnal JBratotitQS 



.... "Those holy fields, 
Over whose acres walked those blessed feet, 
Which, fourteen hundred years ago, were nail'd. 
For our advantage, on the bitter cross." 

King Henry IV. 



XEW YORK: 

GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 163 BROADWAY. 
LOXDOX: JOHN MURRAY. 



DS4-S 

1 6 SO 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849. by 

J. A. SPENCER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York. 



STEREOTYPED BY T. B. SMITH, 
216 WILLIAM STREET. 



TO THE 

HON. ZADOK PRATT, 

PRESIDENT OF THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE, NEW-YORK, 
AS A 

SLIGHT TESTIMONIAL OF GRATEFUL RECOLLECTIONS 
OF MORE THAN A YEAR 

SPENT IN TRAVEL WITH HIS SON, 

(Ktjis % nlttmr 

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



The Author of the following Letters is anxious to say a word or two 
to his readers, before they do hirn the honor of venturing upon the 
perusal of what he has written. It is to forewarn them that they are 
not to expect erudite disquisitions on antiquity, history, chronology, and 
such like matters ; neither must they look here for critical dissertations 
on science in its various relations to Egyptian or Hebraistic lore. Though 
the Author has transgressed on one or two occasions, being led away 
by the deep interest of the subject, he, nevertheless, makes no preten- 
sions to more than ordinary fitness for dealing with the vexatae quses- 
tiones of scholars ; and were he able to add any of his own learned 
dulness, to the mass already reposing on the shelves of royal and na- 
tional libraries, he would, under the circumstances under which he 
wrote, most carefully have eschewed everything of the sort. He begs 
to assure his readers, that the Letters now made public, were actually 
written — except in a few instances — as they profess to be, and at the 
time when they are dated:* they were addressed to one at home, 

* It is but proper, however, to state, that on revising the Letters since his return, 
the Author has added notes here and there from works published since the date 
of the Letters in the present volume. He has also in his quotations from Mr. 
Williams's " Holy City," made them conformable to the second and enlarged 
edition of that valuable work : while the Author was in the East the first and 
less complete edition was all that was accessible to him. He has preferred this 
course, wherever it seemed desirable, even at the risk of being charged with 
anachronisms. 



vi 



PREFACE. 



dearer to him than all else in the wide world, and had most of all in 
view, her interest and pleasure ; and if there be aught of life or value 
in them to readers in general, it may not improperly be attributed to 
the fact of the Author's writing on the spot, while the subjects were 
fresh in his mind and filling all his thoughts. 

It has been a pleasing thing to him, to hope, that many a reader will 
love to hear of those sacred regions, where our Lord walked in the days 
of His flesh, and will love to know how fall of Holy Scripture is the 
Holy Land ; and hence, though originally he wrote for one out of the 
thousands and tens of thousands of Christ's soldiers and servants, he 
has trusted that he may be the humble instrument of adding to the 
knowledge, and confirming the faith, of others, among those who believe 
in, and adore the Divine Saviour. Nothing doubting, on his own part, 
that the Word of God is sure and standeth fast forever, he has loved 
to speak of it, whenever he beheld its holy truths illustrated, enforced 
or impressed upon the mind and heart ; and he shall esteem himself 
happy indeed, if he has been able to make others partakers of the 
deep convictions, and the clearer, brighter views of the truth as it is 
in Jesus, which it was his privilege to enjoy in both Egypt and the 
Holy Land. 

The Author's aim has uniformly been to deal plainly, candidly, and 
in earnest with everything which came under his observation : he has 
not hesitated to express a decided opinion on some occasions, where, 
perhaps, modesty should have taught him to be silent; he has not 
scrupled to speak out what he believes respecting many of the ques- 
tions relative to oriental life, manners, customs, principles, &c. ; and he 
would fain hope that, though the following Letters do not pretend to 
any original research in the great field of geography, history, and an- 
tiquities, the reader may, notwithstanding, obtain a tolerable idea from 
them, of the most important points of interest to the Christian student. 

In justice to himself, the Author deems it but right to speak of a mat- 
ter almost purely personal. When he left home early in the spring of 
1848, he had no expectation whatever of proceeding beyond England 



PREFACE. 



Vll 



and the Continent ; neither his time nor his engagements admitting of 
any protracted absence from the United States ; but as various circum- 
stances — which it would not, he trusts, be wrong to term providential 
— occurred to open the way, and as he was solicited by a dear friend to 
join him in a projected journey to the East, after some hesitation he 
yielded consent, and gladly became a pilgrim, with his face set toward 
the Holy City. Up to that date he had never given any special atten- 
tion to Egyptian history and learning, and his knowledge of the Arabic 
was confined to the elements of the language. He felt consequently 
with great keenness, his own deficiencies in many points, and he well 
knows that his enjoyment was much marred by want of previous prep- 
aration, and his fitness so much the less for undertaking to write any- 
thing respecting the East. He hopes that this statement may account 
for various lacunse and imperfections which will readily be discovered. 

So much for self ; it is far more pleasing to turn to something of 
more consequence. The Author begs to return his sincere thanks to 
all the friends and brethren who have encouraged him to hope, that 
these Letters may be acceptable and not unuseful to the public ; he 
would also embrace the present opportunity to acknowledge his obli- 
gations, in various ways, to his learned young friend and fellow-voy- 
ager, Mr. George W. Pratt, and to give utterance to the hope that he 
may continue to cultivate oriental studies, for*which he has peculiar 
aptness and capacity. 

To J. B. Atkinson, Esq., who, though trained to the severer studies 
of the law, is a devoted lover and cultivator of art, the Author would 
particularly express his thanks. The reader will readily understand, 
how materially Mr. Atkinson's pencil has added charm and beauty 
to the present volume ; and he may gather from these specimens of 
the artist's talents, what a treat is in store for the public, when that 
gentleman is prevailed upon to submit his entire portfolio to the admi- 
rers and patrons of art. 

A word or two in conclusion may be allowed the Author. He ven- 
tures to offer these Letters to the public, without much apprehension as 



vm 



PREFACE. 



to their fate ; for he is well convinced that they will meet with all the 
indulgence which they deserve ; and will speedily find their true level 
in the estimation of the reading community. If it be found that they 
contain nothing of interest or value to the Christian public in general, 
and that they ought never to have been dragged forth, through the un- 
wise partiality of friends, from the privacy of their' original destination, 
the writer of them will yield to no one in wishing that they may speed- 
ily sink into neglect and oblivion ; but if it be true, as he believes and 
trusts, that they are not unworthy attention, as coming from one who 
has spoken honestly and straight-forwardly ; as being free from exag- 
geration, affectation, or a captious spirit ; and as treating of matters 
deeply important and interesting to all ; then hfe will not doubt, that 
even a new book on the East will be received with indulgent favor ; and 
he will have the satisfaction of knowing, that he has not lived and 
written altogether in vain. 

New York, December 20th. l Raq 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Street and Fountain in Cairo, Frontispiece. 

The " Ibis," our boat on the Nile, 74 

An Arab Village on the Nile, 82^ 

Grand Court in the Temple at Medinet Habu, Thebes, 125 ^ 

Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, ........ 298 

Plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, . 320 

The Town and Hills of Bethlehem, ..... . . 355^ 

The Town and Lake of Tiberias, .... 443 

The Port of Tyre and Mount Lebanon, ........ 46? 

fBtait € lightnings 

INSERTED IN THE TEXT. 

A Section of the Great Pyramid, . . . . . ■ . . . 43 
Sculpture on the walls of the Temple of Karnak: "kingdom of Judalv • 147 

Figure of Cleopatra, . .157 

Plan of Jerusalem, from Dr. Schultz, . ....... 268 

Sketch Map of the Dead Sea, from that of Lieut. Lynch, .... 385 ^ 

Ichnography of the ancient Cathedral at Tyre, . . . . • 468 



C O N T I N T S, 



LETTER I. 

ALEXANDRIA. 

PAGE 

Voyage from Malta. — Arrival. — First Impressions. — Contrasts. — The Modern City. — 
Glimpses of Oriental Life.— Remnants of the Past.— Pompey's Pillar.— The Obelisks. 
—Recollections of by-gone Ages, 1 



LETTER E. 

THE NILE AXD THE PYRAMIDS. 

Mahmudieh Canal.— Importance.— Petty Steamers. — Scenery— Atfeh.— Discomforts. — 
First View of the Nile. — Scenery Peculiarly Oriental. — Arrival at Cairo in the Night. — 
The Metropolis. — Start for the Pyramids. — Masr el Atikeh. — Mosque of 'Amr. — Tradi- 
tion. — Island of Rhoda. — Pyramids from East Bank of the Nile. — Gizeh. — Plain between 
River and Pyramids. — Effect of Gradual Approach. — Immense Masses of Stone. — As- 
cent. — Prospect from the Summit. — Visit to the Interior. — Narrow. Dark Passages. — 
t; King's Chamber." — Sarcophagus. — Perhaps Discoveries yet to be made. — K Queen's 
Chamber." — Very Hot and Dusty inside. — Evening Walk. — Vast Necropolis of Royal 
Memphis, . 23 



LETTER HI. 

THE PYRAMIDS AND THEIR BUILDERS. 

The Second Pyramid.— The Pyramid of Mycerinus.— The Sphinx.— Its Position and Ap- 
pearance. — Its Former Glory. — Mystical Import of the Sphinx. — Object of the Pyramids. 
—Historical Abstract— Statements of Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo. Pliny.— Early Chris- 
tian Travellers.— Date of the Pyramids.— "Who built the Pyramids ?— Intended Uses of 
these Structures.— Exciting Scene on Leaving the Pyramids, . . . 51 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER IV. 

LIFE ON THE NILE. 

PAGE 

Romance of Life on the Nile.— Our Boat, the « Ibis."— Description of it— The Reis, Pilot 
and Crew.— Their Characters and Habits— Dragoman and Servants. — A Day Described. 
—Adventure with Dogs on Shore— Other Adventures and Exploits.— Characteristics 
of this Sort of Life, . . .71 



LETTER V. 

PHILAE SYENE ELEPHANTINE ESNEH. 

Vicinity of Philae.— The Island.— Ruins.— Extent and Character.— Egyptian Architecture. 
—Its Effect in General.— Large Chamber.— Used by the Early Christians.— Crosses and 
Inscriptions. — Greek, Italian, French, &c. — The Cataracts. — Swimming Exhibition. — 
Syene. — The Granite Quarries. — Island of Elephantine. — Its Ruins. — Present Inhab- 
itants.— Thoughts on their Condition.— Esneh.— Its Temple.— Ghawazy.— Disgusting Ex- 
hibitions, 89 



LETTER VI. 

NECROPOLIS OF THEBES. 

Vast Variety and Extent of Ancient Thebes. — Details not Attempted. — Some Days spent 
in Looking over the Ground. — Difficulty of selecting Objects for Description. — Several 
Villages now occupy Site of Ancient Thebes. — History of its Downfall. — Outline Sketch 
of its Wonderful Ruins. — West Bank of the Nile. — Necropolis of Thebes. — Position of 
the Catacombs. — Belzoni's Tomb. — Interior. — Splendid Decorations and Sculptures. — 
Bruce's or the Harper's Tomb. — Deeply Interesting. — Other Tombs. — Temple at Medi- 
net Habu. — Style and Character. — Sunrise Visit to the Vocal Memmon. — Position of the 
Colossi.— How was the Sound Produced?— Present Condition of the Colossi, . . 106 



LETTER VII. 

LUXOR AND KARNAK. 

Ruins at Luxor.— General Character.— View from the Propyla.— Obelisk— Beauty and 
Finish.— Colossal Figures.— Sculptures on the Walls— Ride to Karnak.— Dromos of 
Sphinxes— Massive Gateways.—" Hundred-Gated Thebes."— The Great Temple.— Its 
Wondrous Extent and Grandeur. — Hall of Assembly. — Unequalled in Conception and 
Execution. — Power and Wealth of the Ancient Egyptians. — Beauty and Glory all gone. 
— Present Desolation. — Edifices in the Vicinity. — Magnificence and Splendor of Thebes 
as a Whole. — Comparative Antiquity of the Buildings. — Interesting Discovery of Cham- 
pollion's. — Shishak. — Jerusalem Taken. — Hieroglyphics Explained. — Result, . . .131 



CONTENTS. 



xi 



LETTER VIII. 

DENDERA ES-SIOUT BENI-HASSAN. 

PAGE 

Remains at Dendera. — Visit to the Temple. — Description. — Date. — Inferior Style of Arch- 
itecture. — Interesting as a Whole. — The Zodiac. — Unfounded Views once entertained. — 
Cleopatra. — Singular Representation. — Es-Siout. — Visit to the Coptic Bishop. — Appear- 
ance. — Conversation. — Characteristics. — Second Visit. — Coptic Churches. — Style and Ar- 
rangements. — Bishop of Esneh. — Character and Standing. — Stabl Antar. — Interesting 
Locality.— Beni-Hassan— General Character of the Grottoes.— Paintings and Sculptures. 
— Supposed Connection with Joseph and his Brethren. — Exciting Interest of the Scene, 151 



LETTER IX. 

THE METROPOLIS OF EGYPT. 

Promise to be Fulfilled. — Scenes during a Day from the Window of our Hotel. — Variety. 
— Peculiarity, and Strangeness of everything. — Noise and Confusion. — A Walk in the 
Streets and Lanes.— Coptic Quarter. — A Cairene House.— View from the Roof.— The 
Bazaars. — Process of Buying a Garment. — Cries of the Metropolis, .... 173 



LETTER X. 

MOSKS CITADEL HELIOPOLIS. 

Religious Edifices. — Great Number of Mosks in Cairo. — Mosk of Ahmed ibn et-Tiilun. — 
Oldest. — Minaret. — Anecdote. — Mosks easily visited. — Description of Interior. — Mosk 
of Sultan Hassan. — Finest in Cairo. — Interior. — Citadel. — Massacre of Memlooks. — Mo- 
hammed Ali's Mosk. — Splendid View from Citadel. — Adventure. — Objects of Interest 
in the Environs of Cairo. — Heliopolis. — Obelisk. — Sad Reflections. — Joseph and the 
Daughter of the Priest or Prince of On. — Sycamore of the Holy Family. — An Oriental 
Bath. — Description of one. — Its Peculiarities. — Great Enjoyment, 190 



LETTER XI. 

COPTIC CHURCH PUBLIC MEN AND EVENTS. 

Christian Privileges of Travellers— Rev. Mr. Lieder and Family.— Missionary Operations 
in the East.— Visit to the Coptic Patriarch.— His Character and Position.— Church Ser- 
vices in the Patriarch's Church in Cairo. — Arrangements Internally. — Robes of the 
Priests.— Customs of the Worshippers— Coptic and Arabic used in the Services. — 
Communion Service. — Consecration of the Elements. — Peculiarities of Administration. 
—Public Men in Cairo.— Mohammed Ali.— Ibrahim Pasha.— Abbas Pasha— His Char- 
acter and Course. — Presentation of Mr. Macauley, the American Consul-GeneraL — 
Description of the Scene.— Did not go off Well.— Mr. Lane and Family.— Conclusion 
Respecting "Egypt, . . . . . . . 207 



€{r* Inltj limit. 



LETTER XII. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 

PAGE 

Delights of a Lazaretto.— Our Original Plan determined on.— The Short Route.— Num- 
ber of our Party.— The Camel.— How arranged for Riding.— Peculiarities of this Sort 
of Locomotion. — Its Pleasures and Pains. — A Day's Scenes and Occurrences described. 
—The Punishment of the Rebellious Jews.— What is Seen and Felt in the Desert.— Our 
Route by el Arish.— Land of Goshen.— Locusts.— El Kanka, Tel Jehudieh, Belbeis, 
Salahieh, &c. — Arrival at El Arish. — Enter Asia. — Route to Gaza. — Quarantine. — The 
Town or City.— No Opportunity to Visit it.— Vexatious Loss of Time, . . . . 227 



LETTER XILL 

PALESTINA — THE HILL COUNTRY. 

Peculiar Emotions excited by Visiting Jerusalem. — Not easily Explicable. — Our Route 
from Gaza. — Our Wish to be in the Holy City before Good Friday. — Horses and Mules. 
—Weather.— Contrast.— Immense Olive Groves.— Fertility and Beauty of the Land of 
the Philistines— Commands of God with Respect to the Canaanites.— Conduct of the 
Jews. — Mode of Computing Distances in Syria. — Villages and Towns on the Road. — 
Dwellings of the People.— Emmaus or Nicopolis.— Latrun.— "Gate of the Valley." — 
Terrible Road upwards to Jerusalem. — Toil and Fatigue. — Time Occupied. — Abu Gosh. 
—Story.— First View of the Holy City.— Feelings of Disappointment.— Entered Jaffa 
Gate. — Hotel. — Severe Illness. — Confinement for Several Days. — Deprivation of Pre- 
cious Privileges, * 243 



LETTER XIV. 

THE HOLT CITY. 

Extent of the Topics Involved. — A few Points only Attempted. — The Streets, General 
Appearance, First Impressions, &c. — Houses. — Stone and well Built. — Peculiarity. — 
Population of Jerusalem. — Probable Amount of. — Character and Condition. — Jews. — 
Tlpnressed Condition. — Jewish Quarter. — Visit to it. — Scries there. — English Mission 



CONTENTS. 



xiii 



to the Jews.— Its Foundation and Objects— Converts— Jews' Place of Wailing— Mas- 
sive Masonry. — Ruined Arch. — Lepers' Huts. — Scene of Misery and Woe. — Moham- 
medan Population. — Their Character. — The Christians in Jerusalem. — Deplorable and. 
Disgraceful Hatred and Dissensions. — Social State and Condition on the Whole. — Hope 
for the Future, . . " . . . . . . . . 267 



LETTER XV. 

GETHSEMANE THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. 

Necessity of omitting many Things for Want of Room. — A Walk outside of the City.— 
Via Dolorosa. — Pass out of St. Stephen's Gate. — Scene from this Point. — Descend into 
the Valley of Jehoshaphat.— Cross the Kedron.— Garden of Gethsemane.— Deep and 
Solemn Feelings. — Our Lord's Agony. — Thoughts respecting the Last Days of His Pas- 
sion. — Ascent of the Mount of Olives. — An Incident. — Desolateness of the Scene, — 
Ruins on the Summit. — The Foot-print in the Rock. — Pilgrim Devotion. — Question as 
to the Place of our Lord's Ascension. — View Adopted. — Panorama from the Minaret 
near by. — Musings on the Mount of Olives. — David and his Rebellious Son. — Our Lord 
Jesus Christ. — Wept over Jerusalem. — His Solemn Words. — Return to the City. — Talk 
with Tommaso. — Sadness of the Scene at Evening. — A Walk around the Walls Outside. — 
The Citadel, Pool of Gihon, Mount Zion, Valley of Hinnom.— The Pool of Siloam, 
Fountain of the Virgin. — Some General Remarks in Conclusion. — Striking Natural Fea- 
tures of Jerusalem Anciently.— Question as to the Population it was Capable of Con- 
taining.— Probable Result, . . 286 



LETTER XVI. 

CALVARY AND THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

Avowal of Preference for the Opinions of Antiquity.— Bearing on the Questions Proposed. 
— Is the Holy Sepulchre rightly placed by Tradition, or not ? — Description of the Present 
Church. — Where Situate. — The Court. — The Interior. — Traditionary Localities. — Effect 
Produced on the Mind. — The Sepulchre. — Present Appearance. — Mount Calvary. — 
Tombs underneath. — Examination of the Question at Issue. — Scriptural Statement. — 
What is Certain. — Present Church is within the Walls, Calvary was without. — Difficulty 
in Consequence.— Topographical Argument.— Josephus's Statements.— Points to be de- 
termined.— Tower of Hippicus, where situate.— Position of the Gate Gennath.— Course 
of the Second Wall— Akra and the Tyropoeon.— Result of the Examination.— Argument 
from History and Tradition.— Its Value.— Knowledge, Sentiments, Position, Character, 
etc., of the first Christians.— Reign of Hadrian. — What was done in Jerusalem. — Con- 
stantine and the Bishop of Jerusalem.— Recovery of the Holy Sepulchre.— Invention of 
the Cross.— Basilica of Constantine.— Why should we not believe in the Verity of the 
Holy Sepulchre ?— Evil Characteristics of the Present Age— Claims of the Early Chris- 
tians upon our Sympathy and Candor.— Dr. Robinson's Strictures on Macarius and his 
Clergy censured.— Conclusion.— Passages quoted from Bartlett, Fergusson and Wjlson, 315 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER XVH. 

BETHLEHEM AND ITS VICINITY. 

PAGE 

Environs of Jerusalem. — Attractions. — Excursion to Bethlehem, Frank Mountain, &c. — 
Prospect from near the City. — Plain of Rephaim. — View of a Part of the Dead Sea. — 
Characteristics of the Hills and Vales seen on our Way. — Illustrations of Holy Scripture. 
— Musings upon David's Eventful Career. — Picturesque Situation of Bethlehem. — Arri- 
val at the Frank Mountain. — Herodium. — Ascent of the Hill. — View from the Summit. — 
Ruins there. — Thence to Solomon's Pools. — Value of Water in the East. — The Pools. — 
Massive Masonry.— Position— Route to Bethlehem.— Convent and Church.— Place of 
the Nativity— Is the Tradition Reliable ?— The Town.— Reflections upon the History 
and Events connected with Bethlehem. — Jacob, Rachel, Naomi, Ruth. — The Blessed 
Virgin, the Holy Child, the Shepherds, the Magi, &c. — Rachel's Tomb. — Reach Jerusa- 
lem at Sunset.— Extract from Mr. Pratt's Journal, relative to Hebron and its Vicinity, 348 



LETTER XVH!. 

THE DEAD SEA AND THE JORDAN. 

Early Start for the Dead Sea.— Path or Road over the Mount of Olives.— Bethany.— Its 
Present Position . — Traditionary Sites. — Our Saviour's Divine Compassion. — Fountain of 
the Apostles. — Contrast. — Gloomy and Cheerless Road. — Character of the Scenery. — 
Road by Neby Musa— Our Sheikh and his Men.— Picturesque Costume.— Parable of the 
Good Samaritan.— Truthfulness and Force.— First View of the Dead Sea.— Reputed 
Tomb of the Prophet Moses. — Sanctity in the Eyes of the Mohammedans. — An Incident. 
—Approach to the Dead Sea.— Saltish Plain.— The Water.— Took a Bath in it.— Charac- 
ter of the Water.— The Plain or Valley of the Jordan.— Banks of the River.— Bathing- 
place of the Pilgrims. — Strong Current. — A Bath in the Jordan. — Ride to Jericho. — 
Wretched Village. — Ain es-Siiltan. — Lovely Fountain. — Return to Jerusalem. — The Eng- 
lish Church and Services.— Preparations for Departure, 373 



LETTER XIX. 

JUDEA SAMARIA JACOB'S WELL NABULUS. 

Preparations for Departure.— Leave the City.— Last View of Jerusalem.— Character of the 
Road as we proceed Northwardly. — Ruins by Roadside. — Anathoth. — Er-Ram or Ramah 
of Benjamin.— Gibeon, Beth-horon, &c— The Miracle wrought by Joshua.— Beeroth, 
Place of Encampment. — Pleasantness of the Scene. — Tradition relating to the Virgin 
and Child.— Next Morning's Experience.— Delays.— Beitin or Bethel.— Hilly Road.— Pic- 
turesqueness. — Yebrud. — Mountains of Ephraim. — Khan Lubban. — Shiloh. — Plain of 
El-Mukhna. — Extent and Fertility. — A Gallop. — Jacob's Well. — Its Touching Interest. — 
Our Lord and the Woman of Samaria. — Arrival at Nablus. — Adventure. — Were Stoned. 
— Beauty of the Valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. — Musings on the 
Past.— Visit to the Synagogue of the Samaritans.— Had a Sight of the Pentateuch.— Its 
Age and Value.— Tischendorff's Opinion.— The Lepers.— Population, Name, &c, of the 
City, . . ... . . . . . . . . . \ . . . 401 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



LETTER XX. 

SEBASTE — -TABOR TIBERIAS NAZARETH. 

PAGE 

Departure from Nablus.— Lovely Valley between Gerizim and Ebal.— Well-watered. — 
Lawless Character of the People. — Arrival at Sebaste. — Beautiful Situation on a Conical 
Hill.— Remains of a Grand Colonnade.— Church of St. John the Baptist.— Difficulty of 
getting Admission.— Insults offered to Travellers.— Road after leaving Sebaste.— Sanur, 
a Strong Place naturally. — Reached Jenin. — Story of our Dragoman's Adventure here. — 
The Town. — The Great Plain of Esdraelon. — Its Fertility, Extent, and Beauty. — Zerin, or 
Ancient Jezreel. — Solam, or Shunem. — Nain. — Kleber's Battle. — Little Hermon. — Arrival 
at Mount Tabor. — Make the Ascent. — Ruins on the Summit. — Magnificent View from 
the Summit. — Question as to the Place of our Lord's Transfiguration. — Reflections on 
the History and Associations of Tabor.— Leave for Sea of Tiberias.— The Route.— Jebel 
Hattin.— Tubarieh.— Its present Degraded Condition.— Beauty of the Lake.— Our Lord's 
Frequent Presence here.— Desolation of the Cities and Towns around it.— Departure for 
Nazareth.— Lubieh.—Kefr Kenna.— Beautiful Situation of Nazareth.— Its Traditionary 
Localities. — The Mount of Precipitation. — The Panorama from the Summit of the Hill 
on which Nazareth stands. — Reflections on our Lord's Early Days, and the Years spent 
in Nazareth, ^422 



LETTER XXL 

MOUNT CARMEL — ST. JEAN D'ACRE — TYRE. 

The Value of the Hospices at Nazareth and other Points in the Holy Land.— Country be- 
tween Nazareth and Carmel. — Cross the Kishon. — Not Large River. — Haifa. — In De- 
pressed Condition. — Ascent of Mount Carmel. — Two Days Sojourn at the Hospice. — Ex- 
cellence of the Accommodations. — Brother Clement. — Brief Notice of Giovanni Battista, 
the Architect and Founder of the Present Edifice. — His Labors and Success. — Explora- 
tion of the Building— The Chapel, Library, &c. — Scriptural Recollections of Carmel.— 
Departure on the 25th inst.— Cross the Kishon.— Amusing Scene.— The River Belus. — 
Akka as it now is.— Excursion through the Town.— Mosk of the Butcher Pasha.— Recol- 
lections of the Past connected with Akka.— Departure— Ez-Zib.— Plain to the North.— 
Ras en-Nakura. — Encamp on the Hill. — Ruins of Scandalium. — Promontorium Album. — 
The " Ladder of Tyre."— Picturesque View.— Ras el- Ain.— Description of the Reservoirs 
from Maundrell. — Approach to Sur or Tyre.— Its Desolate Appearance. — Striking Fulfil- • 
ment of Prophecy. — Present Condition of the Town. — The Ruins of the Cathedral of 
Paulinus.— Ichnography of the Ancient Church.— Description.— Abstract of the History 
of Tyre— The Certainty of Retribution, . .450 



LETTER XXII. 

SIDON BEIRUT AND ITS VICINITY. 

Uncertainty of our Future Plans.— Route from Sur.— Leontes Flumen.— Adlan or Orni- 
thonpolis.— St. George's Khan.— Mound and Ruins of Zarephath.— Village of Surafend. 
—Passed the Night on the Mound.— Scriptural Recollections.— Heavy Rain Storm. — 



xvi 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Cloudy, Damp, Wet Weather— Columns and Roman Mile-stones —Syrian Sheep— Saida 
as one approaches it.— Its Situation.— Place of rather more Consequence than Tyre.— 
Excursion through the Town. — Its History. — Vicinity. — Road Northwardly not of much 
Interest. — Cross the Bostrenus. — Khan Neby Yunas. — The River Tamyras. — Mountains 
and Villages.— Sandy Cape of Beirut.— Enter it Late in the Afternoon.— Pleasant Envi- 
rons.— What we have been Doing.— The Mission of Americans here for Syria.— Their 
Press.— Sentiments as to their Course and Probable Success.— Avowal of Opinion on 
this Point.— Who only can meet with Success among Eastern Christians.— Concluding 
Remarks on the Holy Land in General.— Hope for the Future.— A Word or Two to the 
Reader, . .473 



Appendix, Notes, &c. 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



LETTER I. 

Voyage from Malta.— Arrival.— First Impressions.— Contrasts.— The Modern City.— Glimpses 
of Oriental Life. — Remnants of the Past. — Pompey's Pillar. — The Obelisks. — Recollections 
of by-gone Ages. 

Alexandria, Dec. 18th, 1848. 

My Dear S., 

We are at last in the land of Egypt. Our journeyings 
thus far have been prospered, and we have been brought in 
safety to a point in our wanderings to which we had looked 
forward with intense interest. You may recollect that in 
my last letter I informed you of the arrival of Mr. P. and 
myself at Valetta, in the island of Malta. We spent about 
a week there very pleasantly, and not unprofitably, in exam- 
ining the numerous objects of interest which this noted isle 
contains, and particularly in visiting the inlet or cove on the 
north-westerly shore, known as St. Paul's Bay, and most 
firmly believed by the Maltese to be the very locality of the 
Apostle's shipwreck and preservation. A portion of our time 
was occupied in making preparations for Oriental travel, and 
in procuring various articles which it is needful to get before 
passing away entirely from European comforts and civiliza- 
tion. Our multifarious arrangements having been effected, 



2 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and an active Maltese servant secured, we bade adieu to 
Malta and its hospitalities on the 9th inst, and turned our 
•thoughts and wishes towards Egypt and its mysterious won- 
ders. We embarked in a French government steamer, the 
JEg-yptus, a large and well-furnished vessel, the captain of 
which spoke English with fluency, and was very attentive 
to the wants of his passengers. We were favored with beau- 
tiful weather, though rather a rough sea and its usual disa- 
greeable consequences. Among our fellow-voyagers were 
Ahmed Bey and Ismael Bey, two sons of Ibrahim Pasha, 
whose recent death had obliged them to leave the military 
schools in Paris, in order to be present at the settlement of 
their father's affairs. They were young men of about twenty 
and twenty-two years of age ; short, and almost squat fig- 
ures, small, inexpressive eyes, and altogether as unintellectual 
looking persons as one could well imagine : their costume, 
too, half French half Turkish, was in the worst possible taste. 
Certainly this would hardly be worth mentioning, had not 
Ibrahim Pasha's name led us to expect something at least 
tolerably respectable ; and their connection with the family 
of Mohammed Ali induced us to suppose that there might 
be some sparks of that genius which has given the late Pasha 
of Egypt. a position of no mean importance in history. But 
there was nothing of the sort in their manners, speech, or 
personal appearance ; and though I would not deny the possi- 
bility of their possessing abilities of a high order, I am sorry 
to say that there was not the slightest indication of such 
being the case in anything which transpired on board the 
^Egyptus. 

Towards evening, on the 13th, we were off our destined 
port, but, in the judgment of one of the lank-looking Arab 
pilots who here hold sway, we were too late to enter. Our 
captain, however, was a spirited fellow, and being inti- 
mately acquainted with the navigation of the Mediterranean 
in general, and the entrance to Alexandria in particular, he 



FIRST VIEW OF ALEXANDRIA. 



3 



very coolly left the pilots to their peculiar notions on nauti- 
cal subjects, and carried the ^Egyptus into the harbor without 
molestation or difficulty, and anchored in his usual place, not 
far from several other large steam- vessels, both English and 
Turkish. The next morning, our eyes were for the first time 
greeted with a distant view of what remains of the once 
great and splendid city founded by the Macedonian conqueror, 
and rendered renowned by the earlier Ptolemies. From the 
water there is not much to strike the attention of the travel- 
ler. The pasha's showy but useless men-of-war lying in 
the harbor, the lofty pharos, the windmills on the neighbor- 
ing hills, the large white palace and harim, the few minarets 
in the city, and the singular mixture of European and Egyp- 
tian style, if so it may be termed, of the edifices in sight, do 
not impress one much with either the greatness or attractive- 
ness of Alexandria ; nor indeed does an actual acquaintance 
with the city, as it now exists, give one a more favorab]e 
or pleasing opinion of its real state and condition. On the 
contrary, I think, whether it be that the imagination becomes 
too much excited, or whether the policy of Mohammed Ali 
has been productive of more injury than advantage, it cannot 
well be denied that the present city, which bears the name 
of one of this world's mighty heroes, disappoints, annoys, and 
almost disgusts the traveller. Such at least is the general 
impression which some days' residence in Alexandria is apt 
to produce upon the mind ; an impression which, I am sorry 
to say, in my own case, nothing that occurred tended mate- 
rially to alter, notwithstanding the many acts of kindness 
shown us by individuals who, though Alexandrines, I am 
proud to call my friends. 

The scene at landing was unique to a European or Amer- 
ican eye* Hardly had the steamer obtained pratique before 
we were surrounded by fifty or a hundred boats, containing 
a motley collection of dark-skinned, turbaned, half-naked, and 
half-savage looking fellows, each one shouting and gesticulat- 



4 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ing with all his might, and calling aloud to any one and 
every one in a medley of tongues, partly in English, a little 
in French, with a few words of Italian, or German, or some- 
thing else. To a spectator unacquainted with the habits of 
these people, it would appear that they were quarrelling 
very furiously, and liable at any moment to come to blows, 
so eager are they, so active and energetic in endeavoring 
to recommend their boats, and so full of liveliness and noisy 
good humor in pushing and jumping about and getting 
hold of the luggage of travellers. Happily we were relieved 
of the annoyance of personal attendance upon our multifari- 
ous collection of luggage, since our Maltese servant, an ac- 
tive fellow by the way, had been to Egypt before, and spoke 
Arabic sufficiently well to manage all such matters as these ;* 
and we were at liberty to observe and — so ill-natured are 
mankind — to be amused with the perplexities of our fellow- 
passengers. Such a Babel of tongues, such a chaos of lug- 
gage strewed over the steamer's deck, such fuming and fret- 
ting, such running hither and thither, hunting up stray car- 
pet-bags or small parcels, calling out almost in frenzy for a 
missing trunk or portmanteau, rousing the ire of the French 
sailors and servants, seizing hold of some bare-legged Arab 
who is making off with part of the luggage, and at last 
giving up all in desperation, determined to take one's chance 
and let bags and baggage go as they may, — such an odd 
scene of confusion I do not know that I ever witnessed. 
After a while, however, we made our way through the noisy 
crowd, and depositing ourselves in the midst of a boat full of 
articles which we had brought with us, we were rowed along, 
at a slow pace, through the merchant vessels, a large num- 
ber of which were lying at anchor in the harbor, and in fifteen 
minutes' time were set down in. front of a dirty white-colored 

* The striking affinity between the dialect of the Maltese and the Arabic has 
engaged the attention of several eminent scholars, and deserves further investi- 
gation. 



PURPOSE OF THESE LETTERS. 



5 



building termed the Custom-house. Our luggage was placed 
in very large baskets, and these put on the heads of women, 
who act as porters in Alexandria, and indeed throughout 
Egypt perform labor of a kind and severity which would 
appear incredible to females in our more favored land. The 
examination of luggage is really quite a farce, since a few 
piastres serve at once as a convincing proof to the officers 
that you have nothing contraband in your possession. 

The day before, it appears, rain had fallen in Alexandria, 
a fact of which we were made painfully aware, by the pools 
of clayey, slippery mud and filth, through which we had to 
make our way, and into which several of our bags and port- 
manteaus were deposited, until the pasha's officers had re- 
ceived their accustomed fee for passing our luggage. The 
donkey boys, too, beset us, and almost per force y shoved one 
of these much abused quadrupeds between our legs: " Berry 
good donkey, master," shouted a one-eyed, two-thirds-naked 
boy in my ears, as I was waiting a moment for my com- 
panion ; "donkey, sir; ride donkey?" exclaimed a chorus 
of a dozen, who had gathered round in hopes of a customer; 
and really, had I not known with whom I had to deal, I 
should have been mounted on two or three donkeys one after 
another, without any consent on""my part, or contrary entirely 
to my own volition : but as the hotel had a sort of half- 
omnibus, half-cart in waiting, to convey passengers, we got 
into it, and after a short ride through several narrow and 
dirty lanes, we were set down in the large Frank Square, 
in front of the " European Hotel." 

It is not my purpose in these occasional letters which I 
hope to send you, my dear S., to enter into details respecting 
many of the facts and statistics, which several valuable wri- 
ters on Egyptian life, manners and history, have given with 
great care and accuracy. My highest ambition is, to convey 
to you the impression made upon my mind by what I havw 
seen and heard, in this land so full of strange things, and so 



6 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



crowded with mysterious monuments of long-forgotten ages. 
I have endeavored, and I shall endeavor, to look at everything 
which is presented before me with care, as far as may be 
apart from prejudice, and with the distinct recollection, that 
God rules in the affairs of men, according to His good pleas- 
ure ; and to the best of my ability I shall try to place before 
you the present condition of things, and the actual, veritable 
life, manners, customs, habits, &c, of the people among 
whom I am now sojourning. I do not hope to approach the 
sparkling brilliancy of some of those who have written on 
Eastern life, and amused and astonished the world with their 
vividly-drawn sketches of scenes, almost too romantic for 
belief by sober-minded people : my desires are more humble, 
and I have the consciousness of knowing— a proud conscious- 
ness it is too — that my want of brilliancy will not, in your 
estimation, or in that of those whose good opinion I prize, 
detract from the correctness or value of that which I may 
write. Truth, in its purity and completeness, is ever the end 
aimed at by the Christian man ; and, though I dare not for 
a moment pretend, that I am, or shall be, able to present the 
whole truth in all its bearings, in respect to Egypt and the 
East generally ; I am sure that I have no temptation to de- 
viate from it to the right hand or to the left. I know that I 
have not the slightest inclination to sacrifice truth to smart- 
ness of expression, or glitter or piquancy of narrative. In- 
fluenced by such desires and intentions, I trust to make you, 
my dear S., in some measure a participator in the enjoyment 
and advantages which have fallen to my lot in the present 
visit to the East : and while I beg you to pardon me for 
having dwelt so long upon this point, I promise you, that, 
with this understanding as to my purpose and expectations, 
I will here dismiss the subject entirely. 

Alexandria, or as the Arabs term it, El-Iskandirieh, as 
it now exists, is not, you know, a very large city. It has 
gone through many and various changes, since the period 



ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA. 



7 



when the son of Philip fixed upon this spot to found a city 
in, which might rival the whole world. The modern town 
cannot boast much, either in extent or beauty ; and, while it 
owes very much of its present importance and improvement 
on former days* to the genius and policy of Mohammed Ali, 
it still appears to our eyes as a mere remnant of departed 
glory and grandeur, and, as it were, in a condition than which 
nothing could well be worse. It is curious to contrast the 
language of the ancient geographer Strabot with the repre- 
sentations of modern travellers : the former, in his great work 
on Geography, says : " The site of the city has the form of 
a (Macedonian) mantle, whose two longest sides are bathed 
by water to the extent of nearly thirty stadia (i. e. 3^- miles), 
and its breadth is seven or eight stadia (i. e. a mile), with the 
sea on one side, and the lake (Mareotis) on the other. The 
whole is intersected with spacious streets, through which 
horses and chariots pass freely ; but two are of greater 
breadth than the rest, being upwards of a flethrum ( = 101 
feet) wide, and these intersect each other at right angles. 
Its temples, grand public buildings, and palaces, occupy a 
fourth or a third of the whole extent ; for every successive 
king, aspiring to the honor of embellishing these consecrated 
monuments, added something of his own to what already 
existed. All these parts are not only connected with each 
other, but with the port and the buildings that stand outside 
of it."i Few of those who have visited Alexandria within 

* The population of Alexandria had become reduced as low as 6000, it is 
said, and some of the early travellers term it a petty, mean village ; but under 
the late pasha, the number of inhabitants is estimated to have risen as high as 
80.000 : including about 20,000 engaged in military and naval service. According 
to Wilkinson, the inhabitants are of a mixed race, from the coast of Barbary, and 
all parts of Egypt, with Turks. Albanians, Syrians, Greeks, Jews, Copts, and 
Armenians, independent of Frank settlers. The aspect and general appearance 
of the city, it is asserted, have also materially improved. 

f Strabo, Geogr. lib. xvii. p. 793, Paris ed. 1620. 

\ According to Pliny (Nat. Hist., v. 10), the circumference of ancient Alexan- 
dria was fifteen miles, and its population more than 300,000, besides, at least, an 



8 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the last twenty years, can bring themselves to imagine, that 
it once deserved so high epithets, or was really the great 
and magnificent city which the ancients would lead us to 
suppose. Hardly one but what speaks of it in terms of deep 
disappointment ; and probably, among the places of which we 
read, and concerning which the imagination becomes excited, 
and aroused, by pondering over the glory and renown of other 
days, there is none which more effectually dampens, if not 
destroys all enthusiasm, than the present city of Alexandria. 
It needs not that I quote the words of others to prove what 
they felt ; it may suffice that I declare, and this without any 
intention of undervaluing a city, whose position is of the first 
importance to commerce with the far East, that I was vexed 
at having expected too much, and sadly out of humor with 
the reality, as it opened itself to my wondering eyes. 

But not to dwell upon general remarks, which, I fear, 
convey no very clear idea, permit me to enter a little more 
into particulars. Frequently have I perambulated the city 
in every direction, sometimes on foot, but more generally on 
the back of a donkey. In many respects Alexandria has lost 
its oriental aspect, and can hardly be said to give one a very 
good idea of an Eastern city. The influence of European 
habits and customs, and the effects produced by intercourse 
with the French and English are quite evident; and it is 
not unlikely that in the course of time, and by the force of 

equal number of slaves. The Romans, too, appeared to have considered it as sec- 
ond only to their own proud capital, and as late as the period when it was taken 
by the Saracens, A.D. 640, it still retained its original wealth and splendor. <: I 
have taken," says 'Amr, in his letter to the khalif, "the great city of the west. 
It is impossible for jne to enumerate the variety of its riches and beauty ; I shall 
content myself with observing, that it contains 4000 palaces, 4000 baths, 400 
theatres, or places of amusement, 12,000 shops for the sale of vegetable food, 
and 40,000 tributary Jews." Its importance was almost annihilated, you will 
recollect, by the discovery of the cape of Good Hope, in 1497, and the enterprise 
and skill of the Portuguese ; but, singularly enough, it bids fair to resume its 
ancient greatness, now that England must needs take it in the way to her vast 
East India possessions. 



ALEXANDRIA AS IT NOW IS. 9 

that almost necessity of a free and uninterrupted passage for 
England to her East India possessions, by way of Alexan- 
dria, Suez, and the Red Sea, the change will become still 
more marked, and according to our ideas, the improvement in 
the city still more important. But as it now is, there is 
something very melancholy and unpleasant to one accustomed 
to clean and paved streets, to broad avenues regularly swept 
and washed, and lighted at night with gas, to elegant edifices 
for both private and public use, and to the numerous con- 
veniences which mark the refined state of society in the west 
of Europe. In Alexandria the streets are unpaved, and con- 
sequently either very dirty or muddy; the soil is of such. a 
character, that either of these conditions is excessively an- 
noying, though our experience lies principally in the latter, 
since an unusual quantity of rain had recently fallen, and 
the streets and lanes of the city were not a little muddy and 
disagreeable. In general there are no broad streets or avenues, 
most of the passages from one part of the city to the other 
being narrow, crooked, and arranged with an apparently total 
disregard of public convenience. As may be supposed, the 
mud reposes quietly, until it is dried up by the influence of 
the sun and wind, and the continual trampling and scattering 
of it by the barefooted fellahin ; and the dust blows about to 
the infinite annoyance of everybody, until a fall of rain con- 
verts it into a thick, clayey, and very adhesive mixture. At 
night it is impossible to go out without a servant and a lan- 
tern ; and, save here and there an occasional glimmer of a 
light in some Frank residence, the city is shrouded in dark- 
ness and a gloom, which I can hardly characterize in any 
other way than as oppressive and disagreeable in the extreme. 
If we except the Frank quarter, or that part where the con- 
suls and most of the foreigners reside, it is astonishing to 
notice what an air of miserable desolation — -the term is not 
too strong — many portions of the city present : half-finished 
houses, portions of walls, and heaps of stones and dirt, lying 

1* 



10 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



in confused masses ; wretched hovels, most of them roofless, 
and destitute of every convenience which can minister- to the 
wants of life ; and to render the picture complete, half-clad, 
filthy and degraded people, men, women and children, with 
their little stock, in the way of fowls, goata-or donkeys, all 
occupying some favorite corner of their unique habitation, 
and all apparently on an equality ; — these and, such like, are 
the things which strike a visitor from a country like ours, 
where civilization, refinement, and the general diffusion of 
the comforts and blessings of life are our proudest boast and 
inestimable privilege. 

That portion of the city which is more peculiarly Arabic, 
cannot well be termed otherwise than a labyrinth of lanes, 
narrow passages, and winding thoroughfares. With singular 
ill taste and worse judgment, under a hot sun, the houses 
are mostly whitewashed, rarely have any windows in front, 
and present an aspect at once repulsive and melancholy. In 
the lanes and streets where the bazaars are situated, the scene 
ofttimes has a lively, and, in many respects, a peculiarly ori- 
ental appearance. Everything is open to the street, and in a 
little shop, slightly elevated above the passer-by, surrounded 
by his goods, such as they may chance to be, and smoking 
his pipe, the master or shopkeeper sits. With listless indo- 
lence he waits for customers, who now and then assemble, 
Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Copts, and foreigners of all nations, 
and commence a long, prosy, and noisy discussion, cheapening 
the goods, haggling about the price, and now and then getting 
up a quarrel, remarkable rather for words than anything 
else. At the same time crowds of persons are "passing, many 
on foot, some on donkeys, mules and horses ; the boys 
who drive the donkeys shouting to the people to take care: 
now a train of camels with immense loads move slowly along, 
and cause everybody and everything to give place ; now a file 
of Egyptian soldiers, in their white cotton clothes and bright- 
red tarbushes, stroll carelessly towards their barracks ; now a 



ORIENTAL LIFE AND HABITS. 



11 



person of consequence, preceded by his groom snapping a 
large whip, rides by ; now some veiled object, hid in silks, 
and astride an ass, occasionally with a child sitting in front, 
ambles quietly through the crowd, with her attendant driver 
or groom ; and so, with one thing after another, the noisy, bus- 
tling, but in effect idle and inefficient, Arabs spend their time, 
day after day and year after year, without ambition, and, it 
would seem, well-nigh without hope. 

I do not feel that at this point in my wanderings I have 
seen sufficient of Egyptian life and manners, to speak at all 
accurately of the curious and interesting scenes which pass 
daily before one's eyes. Particulars I shall reserve to a later 
period, when I hope to give as clearly a written description 
of matters which will interest you as my opportunities will 
admit ; but I cannot forbear at this time saying a word or 
two in respect to the fellahm, or common people of Egypt. 
At first sight, it would appear that nothing could be worse 
than their condition ; scantily clad, at best, and ofttimes 
nearly destitute of rags to cover their nakedness, squatting 
down at the corners and on the sunny sides of the streets, or 
lying at full length on the ground ; children frequently per- 
fectly naked, and, without exception, as filthy as neglect and 
superstition can render them ; the men with a pipe, when 
they can get one, the women with a child astride their shoul- 
der and another in their arms, or carrying some heavy burden 
on their head ; all these, with their dark skins, naked legs and 
arms, and other peculiarities which I need not mention, strike 
the attention with a force hardly to be expressed in words, 
and certainly give one the impression that the modern Egyp- 
tians are degraded to the lowest point possible in the social 
scale. But it would not be quite fair to take an extreme 
view of the matter : degraded and oppressed they certainly 
are, ignorant and superstitious to a degree almost incredible^ 
and deprived of nearly every comfort and enjoyment which 
we regard as essential to happiness, yet nevertheless, you 



12 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



would be astonished, I was, at their light-heartedness, their 
patient endurance of fatigue and want, their noisy merri- 
ment, the affecting care and tenderness of mothers for their 
offspring, their contentedness with scanty fare, and such like 
qualities, which, although they do not prove anything in re- 
spect to their condition when estimated by the scale of west- 
ern civilization and refinement, certainly go far to show that 
as they have never known, so they can hardly be said to feel, 
the want of what we are accustomed to regard as the essen- 
tials of life. After all, however, I must acknowledge that 
the scenes here to be witnessed are distressing, and far from 
pleasant to one who is disposed to think highly of cleanliness 
and its accompaniments. It is no uncommon thing, as I 
have said, to see children entirely naked in the streets and 
outskirts of the town, and both men and women are fre- 
quently so insufficiently clad (I mean according to our ideas) 
as to shock our notions of decency, and particularly of mod- 
esty ; one, however, soon becomes accustomed to all this, as 
well as other things : but what is really disgusting, and all 
the more so from its prevalence and its connection with one 
of their ridiculous superstitions, I mean that of the evil eye, 
is the abominable and filthy condition of the children's per- 
sons generally, and their eyes in particular. Ophthalmia is 
lamentably prevalent throughout Egypt, especially among 
the natives, a fact which might surprise one unacquainted 
with the causes which tend to promote the spread of so seri- 
ous an infliction ; but all wonder ceases when a little expe- 
rience has made one familiar with that which I would fain 
describe in terms adequate to the reality. Hardly a child 
have I seen who has not had his eyes covered, na}^ literally 
filled with flies, feasting on the acrid humor which the sores; 
produce, and remaining as long as they please, without a a 
effort on the part of mother or child to drive them away. 
Hour after hour they sit, or lie, or play listlessly about in 
the sun, never pretending to wash the eyes, one of the best 



TRACES OF THE AXCIEXT CITY. 



13 



possible remedies, but rather studiously abstaining from this 
simple and wholesome process ; and thus they go on. year 
after year, sometimes fairly weathering through flies, sores, 
exposure, tilth and everything, and blessed with the use of 
one or both eyes, but very generally either losing the sight 
entirely, or deprived of one eye. or becoming partially blind 
for life. My pity was strongly excited for the poor children, 
as I gazed upon them : but I confess a feeling of strong in- 
dignation was aroused at the thought of the senseless and 
pernicious superstition which has had so much to do with 
promoting this shameful neglect of one of the greatest bless- 
ings of Almighty God. On a future occasion, however, I 
hope to be able to speak more particularly of this and some 
other prevalent superstitions of the Mohammedans of Egypt. 

It is doubtless somewhat unreasonable to hope that, from 
these rather rambling remarks and statements, you will un- 
derstand that Alexandria is but the shadow of what it once 
was ; but the fact is even so ; and knowing, as we do, what 
glory, greatness and magnificence it once possessed, it may 
seem astonishing that there are so few marked traces of for- 
mer grandeur at present existing. Here and there we do 
see. it is true, the scant remains of what are thought, or con- 
cluded to be, portions of ancient palaces or edifices renowned 
in history ; now and then, amid the heaps of rubbish, are 
found broken columns, beautifully wrought capitals, frag- 
ments of an archway, pieces of stones and ancient brick, in- 
dicating at some unknown period in the past the number, 
extent and beauty of the buildings which formerly adorned 
the capital of the Ptolemies ;* but who can tell anything 

* ■• Wherever an excavation is made, an arch, a pillar, or a rich cornice, indi- 
cates that a splendid structure had once occupied the ground, though these relics 
can supply no information as to the object, the date, the name, or the founder. 
For miles, the suburbs are covered with the rums of the ancient town. Heaps 
of brick and mortar, mixed with broken shafts and mutilated capitals, cover im- 
mense vaults, which, serving as reservoirs of water, are replenished on every 
overflow of the Nile. Perhaps much of this devastation, as well as of the igno- 



14 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



worth knowing about them ? and who is able to point out 
with any certainty, or identify with any probability, what 
may yet exist of the splendid temples, the gorgeous palaces, 
the spacious baths, or the noble halls of learning of ancient 
Alexandria ? Who can stand in the midst of this mass of 
utter ruin and desolation on every side, without meditating, 
for the moment at least, upon the instructive lessons and 
warnings of the past ? I shall not venture, then, to dwell 
upon such things as these, but will, with your permission, 
my dear S., occupy a small space with some account of seve- 
ral visits which we made to two or three monuments of anti- 
quity which have escaped the destroying hand of time. 

A short ride of about a mile and a half in a southerly di- 
rection from our hotel, brought us outside of the city walls 
and fortifications, and in full view of the pillar which custom 
and tradition have combined to call by the name of Pompey, 
and for a long time to associate with the name of the great 
rival of Julius Csesar. It is situate on an eminence, consider- 
ably above the road and neighboring Turkish burying-ground, 
and is quite alone, apart from any edifice, standing in silent, 
nay, almost gloomy grandeur. As all the donkey-boys in 
Alexandria know where it is, and hav© got the impression 
that every Frank must see this and the obelisks as a matter 
of course, they whipped up their obstinate little brutes with 
right good-will and a plentiful supply of noise, and we soon 
found ourselves at the base of the pillar, and at liberty to ex- 
amine it at our leisure, and with as much patience as the trou- 
blesome and malicious children, who lie in wait for visitors, 
would allow. Few, I imagine, will be surprised to learn that 
the absurd practice of scribbling names on celebrated objects 

ranee which prevails respecting it, may be attributed to the effects of that fatal 
earthquake fA.D. 365) which swallowed up 50,000 of the inhabitants, and threw 
down the loftiest of their edifices. But on such subjects all inquiry is vain ; for 
the traveller finds that the degraded beings who now occupy the wrecks of this 
superb metropolis, are equally indifferent and ill-informed as to every event which 
preceded their own times." — Russell's " Ancient and Modern Egypt" p. 176. 



POMPEYS PILLAR. 



15 



and in noted localities, which seems to characterize the An- 
glo-Saxon race, is here displayed in a scandalous manner, and 
between the black paint, tar and other substances used on 
the base, and even the capital, the column is disfigured and 
sadly marred. If Mr. " G. Button," "Wm. Thompson," 
"E. Scott," and others, could but know what annoyance 
their silly proceedings have caused travellers and admirers 
of art, they would probably have paused ere they disgraced 
themselves by daubing their names in great staring black 
and white letters on Pompey's Pillar. 

The foundation on which the pedestal is placed is of rough 
stones cemented together, and was no doubt at one time cov- 
ered from view. The pedestal itself is of hard, reddish gran- 
ite, much worn by the weather on one or two sides, and evi- 
dently not from the same quarry with the shaft which has 
been raised upon it. The same remark applies to the capi- 
tal, which appears to be of inferior workmanship and quality, 
and together with the pedestal is thought to be of a different 
epoch by Dr. Clarke, Wilkinson and others. The shaft is 
certainly a very noble and imposing one, rising aloft, in one 
solid block, more than seventy feet, elegantly proportioned 
and beautifully wrought.* The material is what is termed 
the red syenite or Egyptian granite, and not porphyry, as 
Russell, in his " Ancient Egypt," asserts on insufficient 
authority. Rarely, if ever, have I seen a column of victory 
which, even though this is at present in a lone and deso- 
late position, shows more nobly or more strikingly; and per- 
haps no existing monument of the kind excites more varied 
emotions, or impresses the mind more forcibly with a convic- 
tion of the emptiness of warlike renown, than this, with which 

* According to Sir Gardner Wilkinson, the total height of the column is 98 
ft. 9 inches, the shaft is 73 ft., the circumference 29 ft. 8 inches, and the diame- 
ter at the top of the capital 1(5 ft. 6 inches. Mrs. Poole, following the measure- 
ments of Mr. Lane, her brother, gives the shaft of the column as 68 ft. in height 
and 9 ft. in diameter at the bottom, and the total height 95 ft. Other writers, 
quoted by Dr. Russell, speak of Pompey's Pillar as much higher. 



16 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the world has become familiar in connection with the name 
of one of Rome's greatest of generals. 

We spent considerable time in looking at Pompey's Pillar 
from various points of view, and particularly in searching for 
the inscription, which formerly might have been comparatively 
quite legible, but is now certainly difficult to be found — prob- 
ably ere long it will have become entirely erased. It was not 
till a second visit, and on narrow inspection, that we suc- 
ceeded in detecting some parts of the words which are given 
by Wilkinson as the inscription which denoted ,the uses to 
which the column was appropriated, and the date of its erec- 
tion on its present site. By the aid of a ladder, and chalking 
out the letters, Mr. Salt and the distinguished scholar just 
named were enabled, a few years ago, to make a complete 
copy of the inscription, which is on the side facing the old 
\ port, or Eunostus portus, and between the base and the shaft. 

It is as follows : 

TON TTMI3TAT0N AYTOKPATOPA 
TON nOAIOYXON AAEEANAPEIAC 
AIOKAHTIANON TON ANIKHTON 
nOYBAIOC EIIAPXOC AIFYIITOY 
EiTAFAGQ 1 

Other writers, it is but fair to mention, have read the inscrip- 
tion differently. M. Quatremere, as quoted by Dr. Russell, 
ascertained that there was, in the time of Diocletian, a pre- 
fect whose name was Pompeius, who, it is thought, erected 
or dedicated this column to the glory of his victorious master. 
Dr. Clarke traced the Greek characters so as to substitute 
Hadrian instead of Diocletian, and discovered that the name 
of the prefect was Posthumus rather than Pompeius. Some 
have inferred, from its Arabio title, Amud es-Sowari, that 
the column is connected with Severus, and some have even 
attributed it to Julius Caesar. It is most likely, however, 
that Sir Gardner Wilkinson is correct in this, as well as 
other things in relation to ancient Egypt ; he, you will ob- 



Cleopatra's needles. 



17 



serve, gives the name — the least legible word in the whole 
inscription — as " Publius" instead of Pompey ; and expresses, 
in regard to its erection, the opinion that " this column silently 
records the capture of Alexandria by the arms of Diocletian 
in A.D. 296, when the rebellion of Achilleus had obliged him 
to lay siege to the revolted city." # 

Considering this question, then, settled, as far as it ever 
will be, I hope it may not be improper to express a sort of 
half-lurking regret that the name of Pompey is deprived of 
all honor in connection with this noble column, and some- 
thing" of a wish that in this, and a few other cases, tradition 
might triumph over learning, or rather might be found to 
accord with sound learning and the rules of evidence. Cus- 
tom and habit are very strong, and we may be sure that this 
column, though it has no connection with Pompey the Great, 
or most probably with any one else of the same name,t will 
not be called Publius' s or Diocletian's Pillar ; and we shall 
still hear of it, as we have been accustomed to do even from 
childhood, and still read of it, under the title of the best one of 
the first triumvirate. Equally true is the remark in regard 
to the Obelisks, commonly known as Cleopatra's Needles, 
since, while in fact they do not appear to have any connec- 
tion whatever with a female of that name, they have some 
how or other got the present soubriquet, and most probably 
will retain it, in spite of learning and demonstrative evidence 
that they belong to some old Egyptian monarch who lived 
more than three thousand years ago. 

It was a part of our day's excursion to visit these celebrated 
obelisks. Leaving Pompey's Pillar, and returning by nearly 
the same road, and passing several gardens of palms, oranges 

* See Gibbon's " Decline and Fall," &c, vol. i. p. 205, Am. Ed. 

t Tischendorff quotes the opinion of Von Prokesch, who thinks that Pompey 
may have breathed forth his mighty soul at the foot of this pillar ; and that in 
this way it has received his name, as has the grave of Themistocles the renown 
of his, on the shores of the Pirseus. — " Travels in the East" p. 10, note. 



18 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and citrons, and some rather pleasant-looking villas, we crossed 
the great square towards the new harbor. They lie at only 
a short distance from the Frank quarter, and though not quite 
so desolate as Pompey's column, so far as human beings are 
concerned, they are even more depressing and saddening in 
their effect upon the mind, by the misery, degradation and 
filth in close vicinity. "We rode by a number of the mud 
huts by the road side, and saw enough of their wretched and 
debased inmates, and the heaps of mingled filth and ruins of 
various kinds, to fill us at once with astonishment approach- 
ing to disgust. It was a relief to us to find Mr. and Mrs. B., 
fellow New Yorkers, engaged in the same occupation with 
ourselves, that of "sight-seeing;" and I believe I am not 
going too far in saying, that there has already sprung up an 
intimacy between us, which promises to result in many days 
and weeks of most pleasant and genial intercourse. The 
standing obelisk is close to the water's edge, and in the im- 
mediate proximity of the remains of an old Roman tower. 
It rises aloft to the height of nearly seventy feet, is about 
eight feet in width at the bottom, tapering off gradually to 
less than five feet at the point, where a pyramidical pinnacle, 
if I may so phrase it, completes the obelisk ; and to one un- 
acquainted with the hieroglyphics, with which each of the 
four faces is covered, it presents a mysterious and almost 
solemn aspect. The material out of which the obelisks were 
cut is the red granite of Syene, which is exceedingly hard 
and durable, but does not appear to admit a very fine polish. 
There are three lines of hieroglyphics on each side, reaching 
from the topmost point to the bottom of the obelisk ; the cen- 
tral one is much the earliest, and fixes the date of the king 
in whose reign it was originally wrought out and erected at 
the place whence it was brought to Alexandria. As a matter 
of curiosity, I measured one of the ovals of the central line 
of hieroglyphics, and found it to be four feet in length, by 
about two-thirds of that amount in width, a fact which may 



DATE OF THE OBELISKS. 



19 



help to give you some idea of the size and imposing appear- 
ance of these stately blocks of granite, and the sculptured 
story of other days which they tell. Sir Gardner Wilkin- 
son, whose authority is especially high in all these matters, 
informs us that the ovals in the centre are those of Thothmes 
III., a monarch whose reign he dates about B.C. 1495, or 
nearly the period of the Exodus of the children of Israel. 
" In the lateral lines," he goes on to say, " are the ovals of 
Remeses the Great, the supposed Sesostris (B.C. 1355), and 
additional columns of hieroglyphics at the angles of the lower 
part, present that of a later king, apparently Osirei II. (B.C. 
1255), the third successor of the great Remeses."* It ap- 
pears further, that these obelisks stood originally at Heliopolis, 
a city at no great distance from Cairo, and were brought to 
Alexandria by one of the Caesars, to grace that noble capital 
of the Ptolemies. 

At a short distance, and nearly covered with sand and dirt, 
lies the other obelisk ; the base and about half of the lower 
portion are completely covered, and probably a part of the 
obelisk is under the high sea-wall which incloses the great 
harbor. It has suffered much injury from various causes, 
but principally from being exposed to the influence of the 
weather, and the careless ignorance and folly of the natives, 
as well as some of the tribe of travellers, a class of persons 
who are not always either the best informed or the most at- 
tentive to leave unharmed the valuable remains of a past age. 
The prostrate obelisk answers in all important respects to its 
counterpart, which stands near by, and so needs no special 
description. I may mention, however, but certainly with no 
invidious feeling, that the obelisk which now lies on the ground, 
exposed to every chance of injury, was many years ago pre^ 
sented by Mohammed Ali to the English government. So 
far as appears, it might have been removed without incurring 
any great expense, and would have formed a grand ornament 

* " Hand Book for Egypt," p. 91. 



20 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



for some conspicuous position in London. It is both more 
ancient, and perhaps of more durable material, than the obe- 
lisk of Luxor, which adorns the Place de la Concorde in 
Paris, and which was brought thither at an expense of time, 
labor and money, which quite shames the public spirit of any 
other civilized nation. Lord Nugent* is one of the English 
travellers, who deeply regrets what he considers culpable neg- 
ligence on the part of his country : Sir Gardner Wilkinson, 
however, is of opinion, that the obelisk is too much injured 
and defaced to be worth the expense of transportation, and 
declares that the project has been wisely abandoned. 

There is something very impressive in the sight of such 
immense blocks of stone, cut out of quarries nearly eight 
hundred miles distant, and transported and erected with a 
care and skill, which utterly exceed the power of the present 
race of inhabitants. Modern times are much given to boasting, 
and certainly some very surprising exhibitions of mechanical 
skill have been presented to the admiration of the world ; but 
I am sure that nothing is so astonishing, and yet so little 
known, as the means by which the genius of ancient Egyp- 
tian architects accomplished the works which we now see, and 
seeing, cannot help admiring and wondering at. What ma- 
chines must they have had ; what energy to direct, what 
capacity to combine, what knowledge of natural philosophy, 
to apply to their proper end the means and facilities of labor ! 
and how surprising does it seem, that we know absolutely 
almost nothing, save what is inferred from their remains, of 
what this mighty people were capable of doing, and, of course, 
of teaching to the world at large ! 

Yesterday being the Lord's day, I was happy to have the 
opportunity of attending divine service, in the small building 
in the outskirts, at present in use for the English congrega- 
tion. The attendance was small, so much so as to be dis- 
couraging, I should think, to the reverend brother who occupies 

* " Lands Classical and Sacred" vol. i. p. 64. 



CHRISTIAN NEEDS IN ALEXANDRIA. 



21 



this field of labor, and quite disproportioned to the large num- 
ber of English at the hotels, in waiting to proceed to India. 
It may not be out of place to mention here, that the pasha 
was prevailed upon, not only to allow the thing itself, but also 
to give the ground on which to erect a church to the worship 
of Almighty God our Saviour: this liberality, it is mortifying 
to say, has not been met by a corresponding spirit, on the 
part of those most nearly concerned in improving this opening 
for the cause of Christian truth. Some funds were gathered, 
an excellent plan fixed upon, the walls raised to a certain 
height, and materials in abundance collected ; but all has 
been brought to a stand-still for want of money : the govern- 
ment at home, the residents, the hundreds and thousands 
continually passing to and fro, look upon it with apathy, or 
only momentary interest. The walls, unroofed and unpro- 
tected, are silently going to decay ; and it may be that in 
years to come this too will be added to the heaps of ruins in 
close proximity. Though not a native of Britain's rocky isle, 
I could not but feel that it was a disgrace upon the name and 
language (which latter is our birthright as well as England's), 
to suffer this to stand before the eyes of Mohammedan bigots 
and infidels, as a lasting monument of the real estimation, in 
which those called Christians hold Christian verity, purity and 
excellence. 

" O pudor ! 
O magna Carthago, probrosis 
Altior Italiae minis !"* 

I have already exceeded the limit which I had proposed to 
this letter, and I fear also the patience of you, my dear S., 
my most patient of readers. Much as I should like to say 
more, I shall not trespass upon your kindness further at this 
time : pleasant as it might be, and much as I am tempted to 
impose upon you many of the recollections which crowd upon 
the mind, in this ancient see of Alexandria, where St. Mark, 

* Horat. Carm. iii. 5. 38. 



22 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and a long and illustrious line of successors, ruled over and 
fed with food convenient the Church of God, and where, 
alas, for ages, heresy and Mohammedan imposture have tri- 
umphed over the truth, as it is in Jesus ; where, too, the 
bigoted fanatic, Omar, condemned to the flames the world- 
renowned Alexandrian library,* to his everlasting infamy, 
and our unutterable loss ; desirable as I might esteem it to 
tell you of our visit to the bath of Cleopatra, or to the Cata- 
combs near the sea-shore, those remarkable subterranean 
burying-places, on which so much speculation has been be- 
stowed ; Alexander's tomb, as it is termed, a spot which it 
seems difficult to persuade oneself is the resting-place of the 
Macedonian conqueror's ashes; the vicinity of the city, where 
the pasha's fortifications astonish one by their extent, and, if 
I may say so, their inutility, and where the broad plains pre- 
sent an appearance both interesting and painful, — interesting 
by the peculiarities of oriental scenery, and painful in conse- 
quence of the manifest degradations of the cultivators of the 
soil ; — pleasant as all these things might possibly be, never- 
theless I spare you, and only beg that you will grant me your 
usual kind indulgence for the future. 

* Egypt was conquered by Omar in the year 640 ; the Alexandrian library 
consisted of 700,000 vols., which were ordered to be distributed for heating the 
public baths, for which purpose they answered during six months. Gibbon and 
some other writers question the truth of this statement, and the modern Moham- 
medans deny it strenuously ; but the weight of testimony fixes this act of Van- 
dalism where it is usually placed, and as has been justly said, " the Caliph Omar 
will forever bear the odium of having devoted to destruction that library, whose 
numerous volumes are said to have sufficed for six months for the use of the 
4000 baths of this immense city." Milman's note upon Gibbon (vol. iii. p. 522) 
is well worth consulting. 



LETTER II. 



£i)e Hile antt t&e ^gtamtlrs. 

Mahmudieh Canal. — Importance.— Petty Steamers. — Scenery. — Atfeh. — Discomforts. — First 
View of the Nile. — Scenery peculiarly Oriental. — Arrival at Cairo in the Night. — The Me- 
tropolis. — Start for the Pyramids.— Masr el Atikeh. — Mosque of 'Amr. — Tradition.— Island 
of Rhoda. — Pyramids from East Bank of the Nile. — Gizeh. — Plain between River and Pyr- 
amids. — Effect of Gradual Approach. — Immense Masses of Stone. — Ascent. — Prospect from 
the Summit. — Visit to the Interior. — Narrow, Dark Passages. — " King's Chamber." — Sarco- 
phagus. — Perhaps Discoveries yet to be made. — "Queen's Chamber." — Very Hot and Dusty 
Inside. — Evening Walk. — Vast Necropolis of Royal Memphis. 

Cairo, Dec. 23d, 1848. 

My Dear S., 

It is with the deepest pleasure that I again embrace the 
opportunity* of writing to you. So much has occurred, and so 
many are the objects of interest which I have seen and visited 
since my last letter was sent, that I hardly know where to 
begin in telling my story, and very much fear that I may 
miss speaking of such things as would be most agreeable to 
you and other dear friends at home. I shall try, however, to 
relate accurately, and as briefly as possible, the various mat- 
ters of interest or importance connected with the last week's 
wanderings. Bear with me if I become tedious, or seem to 
tell a mere traveller's tales ; for, be assured, in a land like this, 
and amid scenes so varied, so deeply interesting, so surprising, 
so wonderfully strange, it is well-nigh impossible to relate sober 
truth, which shall not wear the air, in part, of romantic fiction. 

We left Alexandria on the afternoon of the 8th inst., and 
after a short ride, took our places on board a small barge or 



24 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



vessel, which is towed by one or two steam-tugs, on the Mah- 
mudieh canal. This important water communication be- 
tween the sea-port of Lower Egypt and the Nile, is one of 
the most valuable of Mohammed Ali's works ; and though 
its history has several of the offensive features connected with 
the despotism under which Egypt groans,^ still no one can 
fail to see and feel its value and consequence to the country 
at large. Alexandria, you will recollect, is situate on the 
western side of the Deli#, at a distance of some fifty miles 
from the nearest, i. e. the Rosetta mouth of the Nile, and 
about the same distance from the point where it is now con- 
nected, by means of this canal, with the great river of Egypt. 
Of course as the entire resources of Egypt are dependent upon 
the Nile, that mighty fertilizer, without which the whole 
country would be but a barren desert, it is of the first import- 
ance to bring into as close connection as possible, a sea-port 
which abounds in facilities and extent of commerce, and the 
broad stream which is almost adored by the peasantry of 
Egypt : on the whole, too, though canals have their disadvan- 
tages, it may be doubted whether, in the present condition 
of this country, that mode of communication was \iot the best 
for all parties which could have been adopted.! Usually, it 

* The Mahnrudieh Canal was begun in 1819 ; more than 300,000 men were 
employed to dig it, of whom no less than 20,000 are said to have perished in con- 
sequence of ill-treatment, hunger, accident, over- working, and plague : less than 
a year, some say only six months, were required to finish it; it was opened in 
Jan., 1820, and named after the then Sultan Mahmud. Its length is nearly 50 
miles, and its breadth varies from 80 to 90 feet. Its cost is estimated at $1,500,000. 
But, after all, we are assured that the work is not well done, and far from durable 
and satisfactory. 

| " An old canal existed on this line, which brought water from the Nile, and 
had been used, in the time of the Venetians, for carrying goods to Alexandria. 
It was called the canal of Fooah, and existed, though nearly dry, in Savary's 
time, A. D. 1777. The spot where it entered the walls of Alexandria may still 
be seen, at the salient angle to the west of Pompey's Pillar; and it was proba- 
bly the same that of old went towards the Kibotos. There was also a canal on 
a part of this line which left the Nile at Rahmaneeh, supposed by some to have 
been the old Canopic branch." — " Hand Book for Egypt" p. 107. 



MAHMUDIEH CANAL. 



25 



has been the custom for travellers to take a boat, which is 
dragged by horses when there is no wind, until the Nile is 
reached, and then the wind, or the labor of the men, is em- 
ployed to complete the voyage to Cairo : but at present, since 
the overland travel to and from India has increased very much, 
and is on the increase, the " Transit Company," under the di- 
rection of the pasha, agree to convey passengers for a stipulated 
sum, by means of steamboats, from Alexandria to the metropolis 
of Egypt. It was in one of this company's vessels that we took 
passage, along with a noisy and rather riotous party of cadets, 
on their way to India, and were tugged by two small steamers 
ahead, attached to our barge or boat by a large rope, until we 
arrived at the point where the canal joins the river, when we 
were transferred to another small steamer for the remainder 
of the voyage. 

The scenery along the Mahmudieh canal is, on the whole, 
rather uninteresting and monotonous. The villages scattered 
here and there present so strange an aspect, with their mud 
walls and heaps of dirt ; the fellahin appear to be so miserable, 
and suffering from destitution and want of all those things 
which strike a European or American as essential to happi- 
ness and comfort ; the almost unvaried and uniform prospect 
of broad plains, diversified occasionally with small hills of 
sand, and far away in the distance, on either side, the bound- 
less barren desert, are so little calculated to please the eye or 
satisfy the imagination, that, could you behold the scene, you 
would not be surprised that I desire to pass rapidly over it, 
and invite your attention to other things : at the same time, 
I confess that there are now and then spots of brightness and 
even beauty ; the verdant fields of grain, the occasional orange 
grove, the gardens abounding in vegetables and flowers, the 
stately palms, the acacias or locusts, the picturesque country 
residence or villa of some wealthy citizen, are reliefs to the 
general tediousness of the canal-passage, which delight all the 
more from their infrequency, and help to make one forget 

2 



26 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

how deplorably governed — so far as the prosperity and wel- 
fare of the people at large are concerned — is this land, blessed 
in so high a degree with a fertile soil, a lovely climate, and 
means and resources for wealth of which the present race 
appear to have no conception. 

About midnight we arrived at Atfeh, a small, dirty village 
of no great consequence, where the canal joins the Nile by 
means of two locks. At this season, the boats have to de- 
scend to the level of the river, some four feet or more below 
the water of the canal ; but during the inundation, of course 
the Nile runs into the canal, and fills it to a much greater 
depth than it is at present. I ought to have mentioned above, 
too, that the cisterns and reservoirs at Alexandria are sup- 
plied with the Nile water by means of the Mahmudieh canal : 
this fact, added to that of the continual drain on the canal by 
lowering vessels to the river, and raising them to the canal 
through the locks, tends materially to interfere with its capa- 
bilities for navigation, and at the period called the low Nile, 
the canal is very shallow, and will hardly admit the passage 
of heavy boats. Considerable delay, and a great deal of noise, 
shouting and barking of dogs, occurred in passing the locks, 
transhipping the luggage and disposing of the passengers, in 
one of the most contemptibly little and inconvenient steamers 
which it has ever been my lot to be on board of ; but delay 
is so common, inactivity so almost universal, and steam nav- 
igation so comparatively recent in this part of the world, that 
I am not sure that it is right to complain ; but whether it 
be or no, it would be of little or no use. The Egyptians 
have a way of their own of doing everything, and that way, 
as you may imagine, is usually the worst of all ways which 
could be devised ; and notwithstanding the influence of 
Europeans, particularly English and French, is very great, 
still it will take several generations before the skill and 
enterprise of Christian nations will be able to accomplish 



FIRST VIEW OF THE NILE. 



27 



much among the present Arabs, or change the notions of an 
obstinate and ignorant people. 

The first view of the Nile must, under any circumstances, 
be interesting. It is so intimately connected with ancient 
history, particularly of that people whose monuments have 
excited so much wonder and astonishment for ages, and it is 
in itself a river so marvellous for its length, size, periodical 
inundations, and many valuable qualities, that hardly any 
one can gaze upon it for the first time without emotion, or 
glide over its broad bosom without a crowd of recollections 
of the mysterious past. I well remember feeling almost awe- 
struck, as I stood in the scant light shed by the stars at this 
early hour of the morning, and looked out upon the Nile, 

" coloratis amnis devexus ab Indis,"* d 

gliding by with its yellowish clay-colored waters, ever mov- 
ing onward toward the Mediterranean, ever flowing, as it 
has done for thousands of years, towards that broad deep blue 
sea, where its stream is mingled and lost in the vast volume 
of waters. Albeit not much given to the romantic vein, I 
could not resist the influence of the scene, nor abstain from 
musing over the past history and present condition of a peo- 
ple whose annals run back into hoar antiquity. I do not 
envy the man who can visit such a land as this, and be for 
days on the Nile, and yet feel no glow of enthusiasm, indulge 
in no solemn reflection, and derive no profit from the natural 
and monumental wonders with which Egypt abounds. Happy 
shall I esteem myself, if the thoughts which on this occasion 
crowded upon me be of advantage to myself, and lead me to 
realize more deeply than I now do, the truths of Holy Writ, 
and more especially the overruling hand of Divine Providence, 
which has more than once or twice been manifested in the his- 
tory of this land. It would be unfair to you, however, my 
dear S., to impose upon you that which, though I could not 
* Virg. Georg. iv. 293. 



28 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



help feeling it, will nevertheless hardly bear repeating, or can 
scarcely claim to be worth recording. Hence, I leave you to 
imagine, if you. will, what a pilgrim from the far off land of 
the West would naturally and properly feel in these deeply 
interesting regions of the East, and particularly when he first 
is privileged to sail over the broad waters of the Nile, that 
mighty and only river of Egypt. 

In consequence of the strength of the current, which usu- 
ally runs at the rate of nearly three miles an hour, the pro- 
gress of a steamboat is necessarily slow and labored ; and as 
the channel frequently shifts its place, and banks of sand are 
deposited in those spots where deep water formerly stood, the 
navigation of the Nile is neither very easy nor very safe, for 
vessels^proceeding at a rapid rate. Not seldom does the ex- 
perience of the oldest and best informed pilot fail him, and it 
often happens that boats get aground, and remain some time 
in a position, the most annoying possible for a traveller. It 
was our lot narrowly to escape the shoals, and after a tedious 
and very comfortless passage, to reach the point of destination 
at a late hour in the night of the 19th, or rather, early on the 
20th inst. The scenery along the river, from Atfeh to Bulak, 
a distance of about a hundred and twenty miles, is interest- 
ing, more from its peculiarly oriental character, than from 
any variety or striking characteristics which it possesses. 
The mud huts of the peasantry, the groves of palms, the fer- 
tile fields of grain at this wintry season, the uniformly de- 
graded appearance of the people, combined with their light- 
heartedness and cheerful submission to a state of things 
which we should consider intolerable, are all peculiar to the 
East, and consequently full of interest to a stranger. One 
can hardly fail, too, to be struck with the evident richness of the 
country, and its capacity to furnish not only means of sup- 
port, but even wealth to its inhabitants, were not the oppres- 
sive hand of the despot laid upon everything within his grasp, 
and the curse of monopoly spread over the whole land. As 



SCENERY ALONG THE NILE. 



29 



you sail along, you see the active boatmen of the Nile, busily 
engaged in their occupation, singing and shouting, and spending 
much labor in accomplishing little work, as is usual in Egypt. 
On the low banks of the river, or some shoal place, you notice 
flocks of various sorts of birds — pigeons, ducks, herons, &c, 
and now and then a vulture or a falcon-kite will sail slowly 
by, or hover for a few moments overhead, as if waiting for 
its accustomed prey. Occasionally, too, the white dome of 
some Mohammedan saint's tomb will strike the eye, as one 
of the few picturesque objects in Egyptian scenery ; and the 
creaking of the sakieh, or water-wheel, by which the water 
of the river is raised to a sufficient level to irrigate the fields, 
or the tedious process of accomplishing the same end by 
means of the shaduf, or bucket, at the end of a pole, moving 
on a pivot, and having a weight at the opposite end, very 
similar to the machinery of the old-fashioned country wells,^ 
gives note of the industry of the agricultural population, and 
insensibly turns the thoughts upon what might be the hap- 
piness of Egypt and its people, were Mohammedan bigotry 
and intolerance rooted out, and the civilization and refinement 

* The " sakieh" mainly consists of a vertical wheel, which raises the water in 
earthen pots attached to cords, and forming a continuous series ; a second ver- 
tical wheel fixed to the same axis, with cogs ; and a large horizontal cogged 
wheel, which, being turned by a pair of cows or bulls, or by a single beast, puts 
in motion the two former wheels and the pots. The construction of this machine 
is of a very rude kind ; and its motion produces a disagreeable creaking noise. 
The ;< shaduf" consists of two posts or pillars of wood, or of mud and canes or 
rushes, about five feet in height and less than three feet apart, with a horizontal 
piece of wood extending from top to top, to which is suspended a slender lever, 
formed of a branch of a tree, having, at one end, a weight chiefly composed of 
mud. and at the other, suspended to two long palm sticks, a vessel in the form 
of a bowl, made of basket work, or of a hoop and a piece of woollen stuff or 
leather : with this vessel the water is thrown up to the height of about eight feet, 
into a trough hollowed out for its reception. In the southern parts of Upper 
Egypt, four or five shadufs are required, when the river is at the lowest, to raise 
the water to the level of the fields. There are many shadufs with two levers, 
&c, which are worked by two men. The operation is extremely laborious. — 
Lane's, " Modem Egyptians" vol. ii. pp. 30, 31. 



30 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



oT Christianity prevalent throughout the land. But, it needs 
not that I dwell here upon the Nile and its scenery, as I hope, 
by and by, to have a more fitting opportunity during our pro- 
jected voyage up the river to Thebes and the Cataracts : it 
may be, too, that I shall be able to speak more intelligibly 
and accurately than at present, when everything is so novel, 
as hardly to be distinct in my recollection, and so strange 
and even mysterious as to cause me not a little perplexity. 

Usually, in ascending the Nile to Cairo, the pyramids are 
visible for many miles before reaching Bulak, the port of the 
metropolis. Towards evening, on the 19th, we looked with 
no common interest in the direction where they are situate, 
but our eyes were not gratified with a view of these imposing 
monuments of antiquity, and we had to restrain our impa- 
tience till another day. It would be but little beside the 
truth, did I say the same of Cairo itself; for, so late was the 
hour of arrival, so dark was the night, and so impossible is it 
to see aught of an oriental city, except w T hen the sun shines, 
or some grand illumination takes place, that we left the 
steamer, and rode into the city, with no more perception of 
where we were going, than if we had been set ashore at any 
petty village along the Nile. It was rather vexatious, but it 
could not be helped, and we consoled ourselves with the pros- 
pect of enjoyment on the morrow, when we purposed explor- 
ing the city somewhat at large, and, as soon as might be, 
paying our long thought of visit to the pyramids. 

Cairo, or El-Kahireh, the " city of victory," is one of the 
most interesting, and purely oriental cities to be met w T ith in 
the East. In size and extent, in the number of its popula- 
tion, in its importance as the metropolis of Egypt, it holds 
the first rank ; and in those peculiarities which distinguish it 
from European cities, or such places as Alexandria, partly 
Arabic and partly Frank, it presents to the traveller a field 
for observation, which can hardly be found anywhere else. 
As you will notice, we have been here but a few days ; and 



A GLIMPSE OF CAIRO. 



31 



during that time, we have been busy in making arrangements 
for our trip up the Nile : hence we have given but a small 
share of our time and attention to the city, where we are 
sojourning. We have been several times to the bazaars ; 
have ridden and walked through the streets or lanes on vari- 
ous occasions ; have been struck with similar scenes, which 
have been alluded to when speaking of Alexandria, as the 
crowds in the streets, the mingling in one confused mass of 
men, women, children, horses, donkeys, camels, dogs, beg- 
gars, &c; have admired in the distance the lofty and many 
elegant minarets, the surrounding scenery as one rides to 
Bulak, or walks in the neighborhood of Cairo, and the singu- 
larly ornamental Saracenic architecture, as it appears scat- 
tered here and there throughout the city and its environs ; 
but we have not as yet devoted ourselves to a regular survey 
of the objects of curiosity and interest ; nor do I think it will 
be in our power at present. The lateness of the season makes 
it incumbent on us to hasten our departure for Upper Egypt, 
while there is a prospect of having northerly winds, which 
blow at this season with some regularity ; and as we hope to 
have a few weeks to spare on our return, we have nearly 
concluded to give Cairo the go-by for the present, and endeavor 
to satisfy our curiosity at a later period. Such being the 
case, my dear S., I shall not pretend to say now what I pur- 
posed, respecting the metropolis of Egypt, but shall reserve 
everything like a lengthened or connected description of the city 
and its inhabitants, till after we have ascended the Nile, and 
seen something of the wondrous remains of ancient Egypt. 

I have not found it difficult to come to this conclusion, nor 
perhaps is it a fit subject of regret ; but you will believe me, 
that I could not reconcile my mind to omit the Pyramids, 
even though I did not expect to satisfy myself with one or 
two visits to these mighty monuments of other days. So 
intimately are they associated with all our recollections of 
everything we have read or heard of Egypt, so strange have 



32 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



they seemed, so mysterious their uses, so vast their size, so 
far back into antiquity does their history reach, that almost 
the first thing we did on arising, the morning after arriving 
in Cairo, was to look out of the window for the Pyramids, 
and to gaze at them in the distance with mingled emotions, 
utterly beyond our power to express. The first day, too, that 
we could spare, we determined to devote to visiting the Pyr- 
amids, and looking with our own eyes upon those vast monu- 
ments, of which we had many a time read and thought, and 
which we had seen pictured by the hand of Art, in many 
different ways ; and, in order to render our visit as safe and 
pleasant as possible, we took care to secure the services of 
the janissary or kawwas of the American Consulate, as well 
as to embrace the opportunity of going to Gizeh, in company 
with our friends, Mr. and Mrs. B., who were fellow-passengers 
with us from Alexandria to Cairo. 

Very early on the morning of the 22d, our party assem- 
bled for the expedition, and after the usual bustle and confu- 
sion, set off in good style for the point on the Nile where it 
is necessary to cross. On the whole it was rather an impos- 
ing cavalcade. In front rode our kawwas, a fine-looking Arab, 
with his double-barrelled gun hanging across his shoulders, 
and wielding his silver-headed cane, or staff of office, with a 
vigor and importance which had a manifest effect upon the 
natives all the way through ; next came the servants, or 
dragomans, who acted as interpreters, dressed in the pictur- 
esque costume of Syria and Turkey ; then followed the lady 
and gentlemen of the party ; and lastly, the servants with 
the provisions, tent, &c, and the numerous volunteers and 
extra hangers-on, who usually force their attendance upon 
all such expeditions. As we rode forth in the first bright 
rays of the morning sun, and emerged from the gate of Cairo 
on the south, dashing along on our donkeys, and making our 
presence known, not to say felt, by many an unlucky passer- 
by in the streets, our appearance was rather grand and im- 



FOSTAT, OR OLD CAIRO. 33 

pressive ; and I am sure, from the looks of several dark- 
visaged Turks or Mohammedans, that we received some of 
the many maledictions and curses which they bestow in mut- 
ters upon the " dogs of Christians" that ride through their 
streets with so much consequence, and whom, unlike it was 
in other days, they dare not revile openly or treat with con- 
tumely and violence ; but, as you may suppose, their half- 
uttered abuse excites much more of pity than of anger, and 
hardly at all disturbed our equanimity. On we rode, in high 
spirits, and anticipating no little enjoyment from our visit to 
the Pyramids. About 8 o'clock we came to Old Cairo, Masr 
el Atikeh, distant some three miles from Cairo. It was 
founded A.D. 638, by the celebrated 'Amr, the general of the 
khalif Omar, and it was here that he erected that mosk 
which goes by his name, and which, according to tradition, 
is connected with the rise and fall of Mohammedanism. As 
the story was told me, 'Amr exclaimed, on building this edi- 
fice, " With this mosk the religion of El-Islam rises, and 
with its fall perishes the faith of our holy prophet !" Curi- 
ously enough, the notion is quite prevalent among the people 
that this is a true prophecy ; and as the dilapidated and 
almost ruinous condition of the building meets their eyes, the 
feeling of danger stares them in the face, and the conviction 
more or less forcibly impresses itself upon their minds, that 
the cross is destined ere long to triumph over the crescent. 
May that day speedily arrive ! Originally the name of the 
town was Fostat, but after the founding of Cairo in 971, and 
its elevation to the post of metropolis of the country, Fostat 
received the name of " Old Masr," or Old Cairo, as Euro- 
peans term it. It is a wretched-looking' town, and evidently 
in a state of the lowest depression : ruined houses, old build- 
ings, idle and listless inhabitants, and other signs of decay, 
give Masr el Atikeh a distressing appearance, and we were 
not at all sorry to escape from it, and turn our attention to a 
more enlivening prospect. 

2* 



34 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



For some little time we rode along the bank of the Nile, 
opposite the beautiful island of Rhoda, where, according to 
Arab tradition, the daughter of Pharaoh came to bathe, and 
saw the ark of bulrushes in which was the infant Moses, 
whom she saved from the ruin which had been denounced 
against the male offspring of the oppressed Hebrews. In 
this same island is the celebrated garden of Ibrahim Pasha, 
which has become quite well known as indicative of the skill 
and taste of Mr. Trail, an English gardener and botanist ; 
and here, too, the inhabitants of Cairo love to resort for par- 
ties of pleasure and the enjoyment of rural scenery. At the 
southerly point of Rhoda is the important Nilometer, by 
means of which the daily rise of the Nile is ascertained and 
proclaimed during the season of inundation, and directly be- 
yond it is the usual place of ferryage for those intending to 
visit the Pyramids. At this point, as we stood upon the 
lofty banks, waiting for the termination of the wordy contest 
between our dragoman and the boatmen of the river, we had 
our first clear view of the Pyramids. They do not appear 
to be more than a mile or two distant, and, as is generally 
remarked, they disappoint one's previously-formed notions of 
their extent and height. Looked at from this point, I cer- 
tainly could hardly believe that the Great Pyramid was almost 
500 feet in height, and more than 740 feet broad at its base ; 
and indeed, throughout the remainder of our ride, while these 
massive edifices were in full view, which was for more than 
two hours, I was quite unable to realize the truth, as it is 
established by the measurement • of scientific men, and with 
difficulty persuaded myself that these were really the vast 
monuments of other days with which our thoughts had be- 
come familiar, and which we were so anxious to inspect. 
What may be the precise reason why the Pyramids appear 
so much smaller and less imposing than we imagine they 
ought to be, it is not very easy to say ; the common explana- 
tion, though hardly satisfactory, is this, — that those great 



GIZEH AND ITS VICINITY. 



35 



masses of stone stand wholly alone, on the edge of the desert, 
and without a solitary object with which the eye is familiar 
to serve as a contrast or comparison ; and hence the specta- 
tor is readily deceived, his imagination leading him to expect 
more than the reality warrants, and his eye being unaccus- 
tomed to judge of heights and distances, except by compari- 
son with well-known objects. But however this may be, 
there can be little doubt about the fact itself, which is noticed 
by nearly every writer whom I have read in connection with 
the Pyramids. 

The village of Gizeh, from which the Pyramids usually 
take their name, is at present of no importance, and presents 
nothing worthy of a visitor's attention. Once, it appears, it 
occupied a position of considerable consequence, and was 
rather distinguished for some features which are now utterly 
lost. Wilkinson mentions that the custom of hatching eggs 
in ovens, which we know was practised in the times of the 
Pharaohs, is still in vogue, and to those interested in such a 
sight, it might be an inducement to spend a few hours in 
Gizeh. For ourselves, however, we preferred getting away 
from the importunate beggars, the crowds of donkeys, camels, 
water-carriers, children, loads of vegetables, and so on, and 
as soon as was practicable, we arranged our party in its usual 
order and rode briskly forward. The path winds over an ex- 
tensive plain, across broad fields of grain and ploughed lands : 
now we pass a small village with its grove of palms, its mud 
cottages, its heaps of rubbish and filth, its pigeon or dove- 
cotes, its unattractive and generally repulsive-looking inhabi- 
tants ; now we have to cross some half-filled canal ; anon we 
approach the tents of some Arabs of the desert; and fre- 
quently are beset by children demanding bakhshish, or an- 
noyed by the furious barking of a pack of lean, wolfish-looking 
dogs : all this time the Pyramids are distinctly in view, and 
though you are certainly drawing nearer to them at every 
step, you are astonished to find that they are miles distant, 



36 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and that you must ride on for some two hours before you 
can actually reach their base. It is not a little curious to 
notice how gradually the precise appearance of the Pyramids 
unfolds itself to one's view. As first seen from the river, 
about six miles distant, they seem to be mere masses of 
stone, built up in the shape with which we are familiar, and 
presenting no special characteristics on which the eye rests ;* 
a nearer approach shows their outline and color more exactly; 
and when within a mile, the layers of stone, the rough and 
broken sides of the Great Pyramid, and the partially smooth 
surface of the Second Pyramid, are distinctly visible. During 
this part of the ride, too, when on the sandy plain which has 
to be crossed before reaching the usual resting-place, one be- 
gins to comprehend the actual state of things, and looks upon 
the broad and elevated rocky basis on which the Pyramids 
stand, the heaps of sand and stones scattered about, the small 
pyramids, the tombs excavated in the side of the rocks, and 
other features of the scene, with feelings of unbounded sur- 
prise and almost inexpressible interest. 

Leaving our servants to arrange the tent on the plain be- 
low, our first impulse was to mount over the heaps of sand 
and rubbish to the point .where the Pyramids begin actually 
to rise, which is more than a hundred feet above the highest 
level of the Nile's inundations. As you will suppose, we 
were soon surrounded by the Bedawin, who live in the vicin- 
ity, and seemed, as it were, to" rise out of the ground at our 
approach ; ere long, too, we experienced the oppressiveness of 
their attentions in our behalf, and learned pretty thoroughly 
the meaning of the word bakhshish, which was repeated at 

* M. le Vicomte de Chateaubriand appears to have possessed more acute pow- 
ers of vision than belong to most of travellers, for he professes to have seen 
and distinguished their peculiarities from the Citadel in Cairo ! " Though I was 
four leagues (=10 or 12 miles) distant from the Pyramids," are his words, " I 
seemed to be quite close to them. T could perfectly distinguish, with my naked 
eye, the courses of stones and the head of the Sphinx rising above the sand." — 
" Travels in Greece, Palestine, Egypt, &c," p. 410, N. Y. 1814. 



VASTNESS OF THE PYRAMIDS. 



37 



almost every breath, and enforced with a persevering action, 
which must be seen and felt in order to be understood. But 
notwithstanding this annoyance, from which there was no 
escape, we could not restrain our astonishment, when we drew 
near the Great Pyramid, beheld the immense blocks of stone, 
and looked up from one corner at the towering mass which 
rose to such a height above us. It is only in this position, 
when you are standing close by, when you see the layers of 
stone, examine and measure their length, breadth and thick- 
ness, look along the sides, or upward toward the summit, no- 
tice the diminutive appearance of some smaller pyramids near 
the base, and see how very insignificant seem objects like one- 
self, that the imagination becomes satisfied that the reality is 
in no wise inferior to what it expected in these mighty monu- 
ments.^ For myself, I can but say, that though I had sup- 
posed a far different scene would meet the eye, and had pic- 
tured to myself something quite unlike the reality, I now felt 
all the effects which grandeur in nature or art produces upon 

* For the benefit of Londoners it has been said that the Great Pyramid cov- 
ers the same space as Lincoln's Inn Fields (=about 550,000 square feet,) and is 
more than sixty feet higher than St. Paul's Cathedral, which is sufficiently 
near to serve for a comparison. You, as a New Yorker, will perhaps be better 
able to comprehend the vast size and extent of the Great Pyramid by comparing 
it with some well-known objects in our metropolis : suppose, then, that you are 
standing by the N. W. corner of the Park ; you walk down Broadway till you 
come to the lower side of Park Place ; thence across in a straight line, just leav- 
ing out the Fountain, to Chatham street, and continuing till you take in the 
American Bible House, the range of buildings and hotels, &c, nearby; thence 
turning northwardly in a straight line to the corner of Chambers street and the 
Park, on Centre street ; and thence to the point of starting,— a space of about 
12 acres in extent. As you stand here, just think of all this being one solid mass 
of stone, as a base for a pyramid! all the public buildings, the City Hall, offices, 
walks, trees, and so on, covered entirely ! Next take a look at St. Paul's, witii 
its spire piercing the clouds, and imagine, if you can, that from this vast stony 
basis, which you see before you, rises aloft a mighty structure, considerably moiv 
than twice as high as that neighboring spire. Is not that a conception worthy 
of some old Pharaoh, to fill a space more than equal to the entire area of the 
Park with stone, and to pile it up into the air to a point twice the height of the 
highest tower or spire in our great city ! 



38 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the mind; and it is not too much to say — though rather 
common-place — that I was overwhelmed with the sight, and 
lost in wonder and surprise. What immense labor, what an 
amount of toil for hundreds of thousands, what astonishing 
skill and ingenuity must have been exerted in their erection ! 
How strange does it seem to look at the Pyramids and turn 
the thoughts back to four thousand years ago, when they 
were bailt by the proud oppressors whose names they bear ! 

" Instead of useful works, like Nature's, great, 
Enormous, cruel wonders crushed the land : 
And round a tyrant's tomb, who none deserved, 
For one vile carcass perished countless lives:"* — 

and what a multitude of recollections come thick and fast 
upon the mind when one thinks that the father of the faith- 
ful beheld these masses of stone ; the children of Israel saw 
them ; the myriads of pilgrims of all nations, ages and climes, 
gazed upon them ; the invader and conqueror, the Persian, 
the Greek, the Roman, the Saracen, the Turk, the Gaul, 
the Anglo-Saxon, have looked upon them, and looking, have 
felt their own weakness and insignificance ; for here the Pyra- 
mids stand, in gloomy grandeur, frowning upon the pigmies 
of a day who come to gaze awhile at them and then go away 
to die — here they remain, the lasting evidences of death's 
triumph over the race of man, and the puerile attempt of 
royal despots to provide for themselves mausoleums of imper- 
ishable renown. What a lesson do they teach of the vanity 
and worthlessness of this world's greatness and glory ! 

The ascent of the Great Pyramid is a far more serious 
matter than I had anticipated : in the distance, the angle of 
the face, which is 52°, does not appear so great as it really 
is, and one imagines, from the look of things, that it is rather 
easy than otherwise to climb up the respective layers of stone 
to the summit ; but the nearer one approaches, the more steep 

* Thompson's " Liberty" 



\ 



ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID. 



39 



appear the sides, the larger the blocks of stone, the greater 
the height ; and when a stand is taken at the base, and the 
spectator sees the task before him in all its magnitude and 
difficulty — such as it is, — I do not wonder that he feels, as I 
did, some disinclination to attempt it. For myself, I must 
say, that, recollecting how I had suffered in clambering up 
the sides of Mount Vesuvius, I was not without apprehension 
of what might possibly be the consequences of the toil neces- 
sary to mount to the top of the Pyramid, and I stood for some 
time in doubt whether to make a trial or not. The other 
gentlemen of the party started first, each with three of the 
Bedawin for assistants, in climbing up from one layer of stone 
to another ; and after hesitating awhile, I, too, began the 
ascent. Three Arabs accompanied me ; one took hold of an 
arm, another of another, and a third helped me up when the 
stones were very large, and I found it hard to pick my way. 
The northeast corner is usually the point of starting, and in 
consequence of the fractures of the corners and sides of the 
stones, which have been made at various times, and the fre- a 
quency of the ascent, the north side is decidedly the best 
and easiest to climb up. It was slow work, however, and 
very difficult and trying to me, as you may suppose when 
you know that the stones are four and five feet thick, and 
afford but a narrow resting-place for the feet, as you gradu- 
ally get higher and higher. Many persons who are good 
climbers go up alone, but I assure you, that I could hardly 
have done it without the aid of the Arabs, nor without occa- 
sionally stopping to rest and recover breath. Practice has 
rendered these people so agile, that it is no uncommon thing 
for one of the Bedawin to go up to the top of the Pyramid in 
five minutes ; others, too, have done it in ten and twelve min- 
utes ; it took me, however, better than half an hour to reach 
the summit, with, at the same time, excessive fatigue, and 
feeling very hot and uncomfortable. But, of course, my feel- 
ings do not form any criterion for persons in general, who can 



40 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ascend the Pyramids with little difficulty, and scarcely any 
fatigue. Invalids, however, and bad climbers — ladies in par- 
ticular, — not infrequently find, that the pleasure of standing 
on the summit, and beholding the scene there spread out to 
the view, barely compensates for the toil of the ascent. 

There is something rather surprising in the fact, that the 
top of the Great Pyramid, which, from the 'bottom, appears 
only partially broken off, presents, when you are really there, 
a broad surface of between thirty and forty feet. In former 
times, it appears that the platform was much less ; and, we 
are told that, in the earliest ages the Pyramid was complete 
and finished up to the very apex ; but, as is well known, 
the vast structures here situate were used by the Saracen 
conquerors as quarries, from which to obtain stone for the 
edifices of Cairo, and consequently, not only the casing-stones, 
which the Great Pyramid is said to have once possessed, and 
which are partially remaining on the second, have been car- 
ried off, but also many blocks have been rolled down from 
the top, breaking and crushing the sides and corners of most 
of the layers in their descent, as well as diminishing the ver- 
tical height of the Pyramids. We spent nearly an hour in 
this elevated position, and were not a little interested in the 
extensive and varied prospect spread out before us in every 
direction. The atmosphere was not so clear and transparent 
as is usual in this fine climate, and I found the thermometer 
had risen to 77° ; but nevertheless, Cairo, with its towering 
Citadel and tapering minarets, was distinctly visible ; and in 
the distance, the range of the Mokattam hills, and the 
quarries of Masarah, from whence the stone used in building 
the Pyramids was brought, added interest and variety to the 
scene ; a short way to the east, the Nile flowed along in 
still majesty, and the green and fertile fields, with occasional 
villages here and there, contrasted most strikingly with the 
barren Libyan desert, reaching away for miles and miles be- 
yond the eye's range, and presenting a most cheerless aspect. 



VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 



41 



Nearer by, the large and rather fine bridges, built by the 
Saracens over the canals which lead from the Nile to irrigate 
the country, formed a prominent feature ; and almost at one's 
side, the Second Pyramid, the Third, and the many smaller 
ones scattered around, together with that mysterious idol, the 
Sphinx, engaged our attention, and afforded abundant food 
for serious reflection. In many respects the view was pleas- 
ing, and in all instructive ; yet, though I felt the force of 
what was before our eyes, and acknowledged the deep interest 
attaching to these mighty monuments, and the eventful and 
important history of this land, my mind was filled with 
mournful emotions, and I gazed long and steadfastly at a 
scene, which it is out of my power adequately to describe. 
Death, death, ruin and decay — these formed the prominent 
characteristics ; death, without hope of renewal — ruin and 
decay, without expectation of re-enlivening power and energy. 
The tombs of the dead, the ruins of once mighty cities, the 
scant remains of former greatness and glory, the degraded 
descendants of a mighty people, all were about me and before . 
my eyes; and the words of the prophet seemed to write 
themselves deeper than ever in my memory : — 

" The sword shall come upon Egypt, 
And great pain shall be in Ethiopia, 
When the slain shall fall in Egypt, 
And they shall take away her multitude, 
And her foundations shall be broken down. 

* * * * 

Thus saith the Lord, 
They also that uphold Egypt shall fall ; 
And the pride of her power shall come down ; 
From Migdol to Syene, shall they fall in it by the sword, 
Saith the Lord God, 

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, 

And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. 

And they shall know that I am the Lord, 

When I have set a fire in Egypt, 

And when all her helpers shall be destroyed."* 



* Ezek. xxx. 4, 6-8. 



42 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Like many hundreds of other visitors of all nations,* we too 
inscribed our initials on one of the immense blocks of stone 
which are found at this great elevation, and which fill one 
with wonder how they were ever raised to such a height. 
As we were all Americans, too, we hoisted the stars and 
stripes, and one of the party taking the lead, three as hearty 
cheers were sent forth as ever were heard on any occasion ; 
the Bedawin, who had attended us to the top, and were prob- 
ably not unacquainted with similar outbursts of national feel- 
ing, joined in with the cheering very lustily ; but hardly had 
they got through with this tribute to America, before they 
raised the Arab cry of bakhshish ! bakhshish ! All such 
claims, however, we made it a principle to resist, and to give 
them all that they deserved, and something more, at the last 
moment of our stay ; for if a person once begins to give, there 
is no cessation to the clamor and confusion which they make 
in pressing upon him, and annoying him beyond expression. 
Taking this course as the best in every way which a travel- 
ler can adopt, we prepared to descend to the level below, 
where we had left Mrs. B., who had declined venturing to 
make the ascent. I will confess to you, my dear S., that I 
had more apprehension of coming down than of going up. At 
an elevation of between four and five hundred feet, and look- 

* When Chateaubriand was in Egypt, in 1806, he was prevented by circum- 
stances from visiting the Pyramids ; nevertheless he thought that he might as 
well figure in good company there as anybody else ; so, as he says, " I requested 
M. Caffe, on the first opportunity, to inscribe my name, according to custom, on 
these prodigious tombs : for I like to fulfil all the little duties of a pious traveller." 
His friend, M. Caffe, it appears, did not relish exactly this injunction, and very 
quietly omitted putting the learned Frenchman's name on the summit of the 
Great Pyramid ; but subsequently the piety of the Viscount met with some one 
who regarded it more highly than M. Caffe appears to have done ; his name was 
cut into the rock or stone of the Pyramid, and there it remained until a coun- 
tryman of the parties seems to have blushed at the ridiculousness of the whole 
proceeding, and so wrote under the name of Chateaubriand, " M. le Vicomte 
n'etait pas ici." I was sorry not to be able to find this amusing specimen of the 
history of past years during our visit to the Pyramids. Possibly it has been en- 
tirely erased. — See Chateaubriand's " Travels" &c, p. 412, N. Y. 1814. 



VISIT TO THE INTERIOR. 



43 



ing down the side of a structure varying not much more than 
35° from the perpendicular, I had some fears lest I might be 
seized with dizziness, and run a serious risk in consequence ; 
but happily my fears were unfounded, and I descended in 
safety and comparative comfort, save a certain amount of 
lameness and stiffness, arising more from a previous bad fall 
from a donkey than from any exertion on the present occa- 
sion. 




A Section of the Great Pyramid.* 



After a pleasant dinner-party in our tent, we set off to visit 
the interior of the Great Pyramid, attended by the sheikh of 
the village, his treasurer and janissary, and a person holding 

* 1. Entrance on north side. 

2. Forced Entrance to the passage leading to the King's Chamber. 

3. The Well. 

4. Continuation of passage tinder ground. 

5. Queen's Chamber. 

6. Grand Gallery. 

7. King's Chamber. 

8. Entresols, or chambers above. 



44 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the rank of governor or director of the Bedawm, besides our 
usual troop of the wild children of the desert, who had elected 
themselves our attendants and guardians. The old Turk, 
who was of the party of volunteers, seeing a Frank lady was 
in the case, was excessively polite, and declared that though 
he had not for twenty years past visited the interior of the 
Pyramid, he would certainly do so on this occasion : his ve- 
racity, I fear, is not above suspicion, since this sort of speech 
is no uncommon thing in the East; and it sometimes hap- 
pens that a man repeats a lie so frequently, as that at last 
he gets to believe it to be true himself. The entrance is on 
the north side, about fifty feet above the base, but easily 
reached by means of the large sloping heap of stone and rub- 
bish which has gradually been here collected during the many 
operations connected with opening the Pyramid. The pros- 
pect before one at this point is not a little singular, and not 
very inviting ; for all that is visible is a narrow low passage, 
inclining downwards till lost to the view, and evidently not 
large enough to be passed through except by stooping almost 
double ; and as it is clear that no light can penetrate, and 
candles must be used, the imagination may very easily take 
fright and conjure up phantoms of terror connected with being 
inside of a vast stone tomb, in the dark, and at the mercy of 
the wild Bedawm who accompany travellers to light them on 
their way and aid them in the difficult places. The masonry 
over the entrance is noticed by Sir Gardner Wilkinson as very 
singular : two large blocks resting against each other form a 
sort of pointed arch, and serve to take off the superincumbent 
weight from the roof of the passage ; they also manifest very 
clearly the care and skill, as well as the advanced state of archi- 
tectural knowledge possessed and exercised by the ancient 
Egyptians. At the right hand, just beside the entrance, is 
a tablet covered with hieroglyphics, done by Prof. Lepsius in 
honor of the king of Prussia and queen of England, — a most 
singular addition to the Pyramid, and one which Lord Nugent 



INTERIOR OF THE PYRAMID. 



45 



and others severely and justly criticise, as in bad taste and 
quite out of place.* It took some time to arrange the pre- 
liminaries necessary before entering, to see that a sufficient 
number of candles were ready, to pick out our attendants, to 
insist upon only just so many going in with us, &c. ; and 
then, one after another, stooping with our faces toward the 
opening, and walking backwards, as well as we were able, 
we went slowly in. The direction of this and all the pas- 
sages is in a due "north and south line, and we proceeded 
downward at an angle of 27° for about eighty feet, sometimes 
slipping over the smooth stones under our feet, and very soon 
feeling the change in the temperature and the annoyance of 
the dust, which is here rather abundant. At this point we 
noticed the forced passage which has been made by those who 
opened the Pyramid, and were unable to remove a granite 
block which closed the entrance to the upper passage ; and 
as they could not enter at the proper point where this pas- 
sage joins the lower, they forced a way into it by hollowing 
out the roofing, and cutting away the upper part of the side 
of the lower passage. This circumstance obliges one to climb 
up a few rough steps, when he finds himself in a passage 

* " In one corner of this pediment Prof. Lepsius has, if it may be allowed to 
say so of so learned and able a man, with a somewhat questionable taste, carved 
out a tablet, and adorned it with a long, and doubtless very correct, hieroglyphic 
inscription, in honor of his sovereign, king William of Prussia, and of Victoria, 
queen of England, strikingly inappropriate in that place — an anachronism 
both in character and composition — illegible to the great mass of mankind — and 
to the few learned who can read it, a counterfeit, proclaiming itself to be 
such ; — a line added to the Iliad in commemoration of Waterloo." — " Lands Clas- 
sical and Sacred" vol. i. p. 119. 

Dr. Wilson also speaks rather tartly of this addition to the Great Pyramid : 
• : Whatever may be thought of the taste in which this bedaubery originated, 
more especially as associated with the name of one of the first of Egyptian an- 
tiquarians, and his generous regal patron, I have no hesitation in saying that 
were all gentlemen obliged to produce appropriate and intelligent hieroglyph- 
ics, according to the ancient form and style and language, as in this instance, 
when they scribble on the monuments of Egypt, we should have but seldom oc- 
casion to complain of their officiousness." — '■'•Lands of the Bible" vol. i. p. 83. 



46 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ascending at precisely the same angle as that by which he 
has come thus far, has descended. The second or upper pas- 
sage is of the same dimensions as the first, which continues 
its course downwards to a subterranean chamber in the solid, 
rocky basis of the Pyramid ; but it wants the finish and polish 
of the first passage : its length is rather more than a hundred 
feet. Here we came to the entrance of the " Grand Gal- 
lery," as it has been termed, the entrance to " the Well," 
which communicates with the lower or first passage, being 
on our right hand, and another passage branching off hori- 
zontally, and leading to what is called the " Queen's Cham- 
ber," being directly before us. It was at this point that our 
gallant friend the Turk gave out, and puffing and sweating 
with heat and fatigue, he bestowed his malediction upon 
Frank curiosity, and as soon as possible made his way out 
again into the open air. W e, however, continued our ascent, 
at the same angle of 27°, through the " Grand Gallery," 
which is a wide and lofty opening, extending to a considera- 
ble length, until we came to a horizontal passage, which, as 
Wilkinson says, was once closed by four portcullises of gran- 
ite, sliding in grooves of the same kind of stone ; they served 
to conceal and stop the entrance to the " King's Chamber." 

This is the principal apartment in the Great Pyramid, and, 
I assure you, has an imposing effect upon the mind, as well 
from its size,* as from the consideration, that here we may be, 
and probably are, standing in the very burial chamber of the 
king who built this mausoleum for his own remains. We spent 
some time in gazing at the strange scene which the half- 
lighted chamber presented, with its medley of occupants, the 
wild and bright black-eyed Bedowin, the turbaned Turk, and 
the fair-faced Anglo-Saxons ; and the Arab pertinacity in beg- 

* The length of the King's Chamber is 34 ft. 4 in. ; its breadth 17 ft. 7 in. ; 
its height 19 ft. 2 in. The roof is flat, and formed of nine long blocks of granite, 
which extend from side to side. The side-walls are also of granite blocks in 
six regular courses, admirably united at the joints, and perfectly even and polished. 



SARCOPHAGUS AND KING'S CHAMBER. 



47 



ging, and the occasional shouts with which they favored us, 
both- to show the power of their lungs, and the reverberating 
capacity of the apartment, were very singular, in such a 
place, and under circumstances calculated to produce the 
deepest emotion. The sarcophagus interested me much more 
than I had expected, and I took some pains to measure it 
with precision, because of the question respecting the means 
by which, and the time when, it was introduced : the result 
of my measurement was as follows : length outside, 7 feet 5 
inches ; breadth, 3 feet 2| inches ; height, 3 feet 3 inches. 
It is of the red granite, and has no hieroglyphics upon it, and 
no cover. Whatever it may have contained in former days, 
it is now empty ; and here it stands, a strange monument of 
the instability of kingly power, since all this vast structure, 
as is supposed, was built to contain the perishing dust of a 
monarch, whose remains have long since, we know not when, 
been carried off, and scattered to the four winds of heaven. 
The sarcophagus has been much injured by the culpable con- 
duct of visitors, who are usually desirous to carry away some 
relic of the Pyramid, and who have not scrupled to break off 
pieces from one of the corners, to an extent which, if con- 
tinued, will ere long destroy it entirely. We hardly had time 
to reflect much upon the perplexing questions which present 
themselves in connection with the sarcophagus and the King's 
chamber, in general ; but we could not fail to be as much 
struck as every one has been with the fact, that there is an 
entire absence of hieroglyphics where, above all places, we 
we should have expected to have found them. May it not 
be, after all, that the secret of the Pyramid has not yet been 
discovered ? Is it not possible, that where so much skill and 
care has been displayed in everything, to keep out intruders, 
and to conceal from all eyes some sacred spot or object, that 
there is yet something to be discovered, which will throw light 
upon points, even to the present day much debated, and far 
from being satisfactorily ascertained ? I am, by no means, 



48 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



skeptically inclined ; but I profess to you, my dear S., that I 
am not wholly satisfied on the subject of the Great Pyramid : 
perhaps time will reveal what is now hidden from the wise 
and learned laborers in the field of Egyptian history and 
antiquities. 

Descending from the u King's Chamber," through the 
44 Grand Gallery," we came to the horizontal passage, noticed 
above, as leading to the apartment called the " Queen's 
Chamber :" this passage is less than four feet in height, and 
three feet five inches wide, a fact which, as you perceive, 
obliges one to stoop and creep along, in a manner extremely 
disagreeable, especially when it is continued for a hundred 
feet or more. Between the dust and heat, . I found this the 
most unpleasant part of our visit to the interior of the Pyra- 
mid, and was far from sorry when permitted to stand upright 
once more in the " Queen's Chamber." It is not a large 
apartment, and its roof is formed of long blocks of stone, 
resting against each other, as over the entrance of the Pyra- 
mid. The stones in the side-walls are finely fitted or joined 
together, and the chamber wears the appearance of having 
been hewn out of the solid rock, which, however, is not the 
case. Perhaps the most striking thing in connection with 
this apartment is the fact, that it is directly under the apex 
of the Pyramid, whereas we should have expected this to be 
true of the " King's Chamber," in preference every way. At 
this point, according to Wilkinson, one stands seventy-two 
feet above the level of the ground, four hundred and eight 
feet below the original summit, and seventy -one feet below 
the floor of the " King's Chamber." 

There are other things in the interior of the Great Pyra- 
mid, which we did not attempt to see, partly from the want 
of means, and partly from the difficulty, not unattended 
with danger, connected with them. I refer to the entresols 
or chambers discovered by Col. Vyse, above the "King's 
Chamber," and which are reached by means of a ladder, or 



VICINITY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 



49 



some wooden steps, now partly decayed ; and also the tortu- 
ous and irregular passage, termed " the Well," which reaches 
down to the passage first entered from the outside. It is 
nearly two hundred feet deep, and, according to Wilkinson, 
was used by the workmen as a way of egress, after they 
had closed the lower end of the upper passage with the block 
of granite above spoken of; though this seems to be hardly 
a sufficient explanation of the original purpose of forming 
this passage. Leaving these, as well as the portion still 
lower down, which was excavated by Col. Vyse, but with no 
particular result, as not offering special inducements to us or 
other ordinary travellers, I beg to refer you, should you feel 
curious on the subject of the Pyramids, to the elaborate vol- 
umes of Col. Vyse, the excellent work of Sir Gardner Wilkin- 
son, the useful compend of Dr. Russell, or the learned treatise 
of Champollion-Figeac, entitled " Egypte Ancienne." All 
these writers go into detail, and bring to bear an amount and 
variety of learning and acuteness, far beyond anything to 
which I can have the slightest pretension, or which would be 
consistent with the object intended by these familiar letters. 

On emerging from the interior we found ourselves in a 
profuse perspiration, produced by the warmth of the atmos- 
phere inside, and the exertion necessary to make one's way 
up and down through narrow, close passages, filled with per- 
sons, and almost suffocating the visitor by the clouds of dust 
there stirred up. As we purposed spending the night in our 
tent on the plain below, we retired to it to rest and refresh 
ourselves with a cup of tea, which was the more delightful 
because of a lady's presiding over our repast, and adding, by 
her presence, to the enjoyment of a scene so novel and so in- 
teresting in every respect. Subsequently we walked forth, 
just as the sun was setting, and beheld, in the soft rays of 
twilight and approaching evening, the impressive sight which 
is presented by the Pyramids, the multitude of tombs on 
every side, and the Sphinx, that most striking image, which 

3 



50 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



rivals in interest the vast structures near which it stands. 
Perhaps no collection of monuments in the wide world has 
so many claims upon the traveller as this, for none can equal 
it in antiquity, in impressiveness, in gloomy grandeur. If, 
as I stood upon the summit of the Great Pyramid, I was 
struck with feelings such as I have alluded to, how much 
more forcibly were my thoughts now directed in the same 
channel ; for here, under our feet, all is ruin and decay, all 
manifest the triumph of death and the mutability of human 
affairs. The whole plain is filled with the marks and proofs 
of death ; the Pyramids, as is thought, and with great proba- 
bility, were mausoleums ; the rocky sides of the elevation on 
which they stand abound in excavations for tombs, and hun- 
dreds of pits or burial-places have been dug in the vicinity 
of the Pyramids ; and beside all these, the sands of the great 
desert have swept over everything, covering many objects 
entirely from sight, and lying in heaps and great masses in 
every direction as far as the eye can reach. Truly, this were 
a fit place to muse over the past, and musing, to lay up in 
store lessons of sound wisdom and instruction ; truly, this were 
the place to burst forth in the words of the accomplished and 
ill-fated Raleigh, — "O eloquent, just and mighty Death! 
whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded ; what none 
have dared, thou hast done ; and whom all the world have 
flattered, thou only hast cast out and despised : thou hast 
drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, 
cruelty and ambition of man, and covered it all over with 
these two narrow words, hic jacet." 

The great length to which my rather discursive remarks 
have extended, warns me of the necessity of drawing to a close ; 
but as I have alluded to some questions of great interest in 
connection with the Pyramids in general, and have as yet had 
neither time nor space to say aught about the Great Sphinx, 
and the Second and Third Pyramids, I will, with your permis- 
sion, stop here, and resume the subject in another Letter. 



LETTER III. 

<£i)e IBgramttrs anti timr 3$tttHiers. 

The Second Pyramid. — The Pyramid of Mycerinus. — The Sphinx. — Its Position and Appearance. 
—Its Former Glory.— Mystical Import of the Sphinx. — Object of the Pyramids. — Historical 
Abstract.— Statements of Herodotus, Diodoms, Strabo, Pliny.— Early Christian Travellers.— 
Date of the Pyramids.— Who Built the Pyramids? — Intended uses of these Structures.— Ex- 
citing Scene on Leaving the Pyramids. 

Cairo, Dec. 26th, 1848. 

My Dear S., 

The Great Pyramid of Cheops, or Suphis, usually en- 
grosses the attention of the traveller so entirely, and has 
besides so many superior claims on the score of antiquity, 
grandeur and solidity of architecture, that not infrequently 
the Second and Third Pyramids are but cursorily glanced at, 
and but rarely inspected with care and particularity. Few 
persons venture to ascend the Pyramid of Cephrenes, for 
though it is not so high as the Great Pyramid, it is much 
more difficult to ascend, and indeed presents considerable 
danger in coming down. The reason is this : the Pyramid 
of Cheops, though asserted to have had an outer casing which 
rendered it smooth and even from the apex to the base, has 
now no remains of such covering, and the visitor easily and 
quite safely climbs up the different layers which project one 
beyond another from the top downwards; but the Second 
Pyramid has a large part of its casing still left, and the voy- 
ager is compelled to make his way up by getting a foothold 
in such places as he can, where the stones have been broken 
or cut into. Generally speaking, this part of the matter is 



52 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



not very difficult or dangerous, for he forgets or does not 
notice the space he has gone over, and the angle at which he 
has been mounting upward for some hundreds of feet ; when, 
however, he stands on the summit, and looking downward, 
sees the smooth facing of the Pyramid, and the plain spread 
out below, and while engaged in finding places for his feet, 
in getting down, he beholds the dizzy height at which he is 
placed, you will not wonder that an uncomfortable feeling 
forces itself upon him, or that sometimes he loses his presence 
of mind, and is in imminent danger of being precipitated 
down the side of the Pyramid. As there was little to be 
gained by running any risk of this sort, I did not venture 
upon the ascent of the Second Pyramid ; nor did we think it 
worth while to go into the interior ; for after the Great 
Pyramid, everything appears indifferent by comparison, and 
substantially the same remarks would apply to the interior 
of this and the Third Pyramid, as to that which we took some 
care to examine. A sloping passage, cased with granite, and 
a long horizontal passage hewn through the rock, lead into 
one main chamber, similar in form to the " Queen's Cham- 
ber" in the Great Pyramid, and containing a plain granite 
sarcophagus. It appears that this, like the other Pyramids, 
had been opened by the khalifs, and re-closed. The enter- 
prising and persevering Belzoni deserves the credit which he 
has obtained, of opening the Pyramid of Cephrenes, amid dif- 
ficulties and discouragements which would have broken down 
the energies of any less sanguine antiquarian than himself f 
this was in the year 1816 : Col. Vyse succeeded in laying 
open the Third Pyramid in the year 1836 ; the Great Pyra- 
mid was opened, according to Arab writers, by the khalif 
Maraun, son of the celebrated Harun er Rashid, of the 
" Arabian Nights' " memory ; this was about A.D. 820. 

* Dr. Russell, in his "Ancient and Modern Egypt." pp. 103-110, gives a very- 
interesting and full account of the labors of Belzoni in entering and exploring 
the Second Pyramid : it is well worth reading. 



THE GREAT SPHINX. 



53 



The Pyramid of Mycerinus, or Mencheres, offers little to 
interest the visitor, compared with the two larger ones which 
overshadow it, and make it appear quite small and insignifi- 
cant : its height is considerably less than half that of the 
others, though it seems to have been excellently well-built, 
and from being cased or covered with the red syenite granite, 
to have presented an elegant appearance : its interior hardly 
compensates one for the trouble of creeping through the nar- 
row entrance, which is almost closed by masses of stone. 
Col. Vyse found in the interior the sarcophagus of its founder ; 
but unfortunately it was lost at sea, on its way to England : 
the mummy-case, or wooden coffin, with the name of the 
king, Mencheres or Mycerinus, which is contained within 
it, is, however, in the British Museum. We spent only 
a short time in examining this one of the three greater 
Pyramids ; and gave but a passing look at the multitude 
of tombs and mummy pits, and the several smaller Pyra- 
mids which have been erected in the immediate vicinity 
of those of Cheops and Mycerinus : they are in no wise im- 
portant, in themselves considered, unless perhaps from the 
singular desire which seems to have been present with so 
many to erect, in this particular locality, mausoleums for 
their mortal remains, and to sleep in the midst of the vast 
necropolis of royal Memphis. 

The Great Sphinx is one of the most striking and interest- 
ing monuments in the vicinity of the ancient capital of Egypt, 
and well deserves its place by the side of the Great Pyramid. 
Tt faces the traveller as he approaches by the route by which 
we came, that is, from the east, and though overshadowed 
by the Pyramids, not far from which it stands,* it wears so 
massive and so imposing an appearance, that it may well 

* The Sphinx is about 1700 ft. due east of the Second Pyramid, and about 
1000 ft. south-easterly of the S. E. corner of the Great Pyramid. Champollion- 
Figeac gives its dimensions as follows :— Length, 128 ft. ; circumference of the 
head round the forehead, 88 ft. 7 in. ; height from the belly to the top of the 
head, 55 ft. 9 in. 



54 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



claim attention, and may well increase his wonder at the 
mighty remains which have survived the lapse of thousands 
of years. Cut out of the solid rocky basis on which the Pyra- 
mids are built, and looking forth toward the rising sun over 
the broad plain between it and the range of hills in the dis- 
tance, even now, almost covered with the sand of the desert, 
and disfigured and injured by the hand of violence, it is an 
image of striking impressiveness, and I doubt not was rever- 
enced and worshipped by the early Egyptians with the deep- 
est solemnity. It was m the early morning, after a night 
spent in our tent on the plain below, that I made a second 
visit to the Sphinx. The rays of the sun shone brilliantly 
upon the mutilated face of the image, and disclosed to view 
features which I had not noticed before, and which seemed 
to me to give it sternness of character, and yet a dignity and 
force which must have been peculiarly effective in the wor- 
ship of a people given to mysticism and superstition. Even 
now, as I have said, when only the head and upright portion 
of the Sphinx are distinctly visible, and with difficulty the 
back of the leonine part can be traced out behind, — even in 
its present condition, injured as it has been by the nose being 
broken off, and much of the ornament of the head being re- 
moved, it is an image which no one can pass by unheeded ; 
how much more grand and impressive must it have been in 
its palmy days, when the face was so renowned for its grace- 
fulness and admirable proportions as to excite the astonish- 
ment of an ancient writer ; when, being wholly uncovered 
and exposed to view, the worshipper beheld the vast propor- 
tions of the Sphinx ; the huge legs stretched out fifty feet in 
front of the body, which is in a recumbent posture ; the altar 
of sacrifice, the three tablets of granite, forming a sort of 
sanctuary or temple, and the small lion couching in front of 
this edifice with its eyes fixed on the Sphinx, all placed be- 
tween the projecting forelegs ; the massive breast, neck and 



PURPORT OF THE SPHINX. 



55 



head of a man, measuring from the belly of the lion to the 
highest point of the head, sixty-three feet, and the expansive 
lion's back, reaching out to the vast length of nearly a hun- 
dred and fifty feet — how grand, striking, and forceful must 
it have appeared in the days of its glory and renown !* 

It needs not here, my dear S., that I venture upon the 
question which has been discussed with much learning, as to 
the design of the Sphinx ; doubtless there was some deep 
meaning intended to be couched under this union of man 
and beast, and their respective qualities ; but precisely what 
it is, is difficult to say, or which of the numerous theories of 
distinguished scholars is the more probable, it is hard to pro- 
nounce ; perhaps, after all, the discussion is of no great value, 
since I believe it may be said, that Egyptian theology is in- 
volved in even deeper darkness, than that which has long 
enveloped the history and literature of the land of the Pha- 
raohs ; and there can be little doubt, after what the labors of 
the indefatigable Caviglia brought to light, that the Sphinx 
was a local deity, and was treated with divine honor and 
worship by the ancient Egyptians. Instead of wearying you 
with abstruse speculation, permit me to quote, as a relief 
to the dryness of what has gone before, the celebrated 
Dr. Young's version of one of the Greek exvotos or dedica- 

* Lord Lindsay, in his interesting " Letters on Egypt" &c, (p. 51.) gives a 
more poetic and fanciful view of the Sphinx. His notion is, that the human 
head and bust are those of a woman, and he indulges in something of a rhap- 
sody thereupon: — t; Her attitude bespeaks the calm repose of conscious strength, 
her expression of countenance benevolence — the tout ensemble, strange, mysteri- 
ous beauty, awful in its stillness. A monster she is indeed, but not one to trem- 
ble at — you stand before her in awe and reverence, as before the wise but be- 
nevolent Simurgh ; and oh, if one could but give her a tongue, what histories 
she would tell, what wisdom reveal to us !" I am sorry to interfere with Lord 
L.'s poetry, but there can be no doubt that, as Mr. Layard ( £: Nineveh'' &c. 
vol. ii. p. 170) asserts, " It is well known that the Egyptian Sphinx is always 
male." The Great Sphinx, too, appears to have been a sculptured representation 
of one of the early Pharaohs. 



56 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tory inscriptions, found sculptured on the left paw of the 
Sphinx : — 

"Thy form stupendous here the gods have placed, 

Sparing each spot of harvest-bearing land ; 
And with this mighty work of art have graced 

A rocky isle, encumber'd once with sand ; 

And near the Pyramids have bid thee stand : 
Not that fierce Sphinx that Thebes erewhile laid waste, 

But great Latona's servant, mild and bland ; 
Watching that Prince beloved, who fills the throne 
Of Egypt's plains, and calls the Nile his own : 
That heavenly monarch who his foes defies, 
Like Vulcan powerful, and like Pallas wise." Arrian. 

The allusion which has been made to the recondite mean- 
ing which was probably intended by idols like the Sphinx, 
naturally suggests the more important and more interesting 
questions, which have been raised in regard to the Pyramids. 
I fear that I may be trespassing upon your patience, as well 
as deceiving myself, by the thought, that you will take an 
interest in a discussion, which, so far as one can see, will 
never be brought to a precise and satisfactory conclusion : 
yet, nevertheless, as I have purposely omitted to speak of 
several matters, not only interesting in themselves, but of 
considerable importance in connection with the history of 
past ages, I must beg your indulgence for a page or two, 
while I endeavor to give a brief outline of the questions at 
issue on the subject of the Pyramids, and a rapid sketch of 
the more probable opinions as to their uses and history. 

It is a singular fact in regard to these imposing monuments, 
that there are few points on which ancient writers agree with 
the moderns, or the moderns with themselves ; or, if this be 
thought too strong language, there can be no doubt that it is 
a strange thing how many and various opinions and theories 
have been started, and how little satisfaction is, after all, de- 
rived from the researches of many learned and able men, in 
this -interesting field.* The ancient writers, commencing 

* It is not a little curious, and may be of service, to place side by side the 



STATEMENT OP HERODOTUS. 



57 



with Herodotus, have related the traditions which were cur- 
rent in their days, and have furnished some facts of a rather 
curious nature, and made several statements which it seems 
impossible to reconcile with truth. The " father of history" 
(B.C. 443) enters, into a long and, on the whole, sensible 
account of the Pyramids. He informs us that the First or 
Great Pyramid was erected by a despotic and profligate mon- 
arch, named Cheops, x that the time occupied was twenty years, 
and the number of men employed 400,000: he goes on to 
explain the probable mode in which the immense stones of 
the Pyramid were elevated to their proper position, expressly 
declaring that none of them were of less dimensions than 
thirty feet, and that the whole structure was finished from 
the top downwards. He concludes his statements respecting 
the Great Pyramid with a rather ridiculous story, which one 
might think was something of a jest of the interpreter at his 
expense, viz., that the outer surface of the Pyramid contained 

measurements which have been made of the Great Pyramid at different periods, 
and it may possibly serve to justify the expressions used above ; inasmuch as 
there is here no room for mere speculation, but simply the determining a certain 
number of feet and inches : now mark the result. 



Perpendicular Height 


Length of Sides. 


Herodotus says 


800 ft. 


. 800 ft. 


Strabo "... 


625 « 


. 600 " 


Diodorus "... 


600 " 


. 700 « 


Pliny "... 


725 « 


. 883 " 


Thevenot " present height 


. 520 " 


. 612 " 


Niebuhr " " " 


. 440 « 


. 710 " 


Greaves " " " 


. 444" 


. 648 « 


Davison " " " 


. 461 " 


. 746 " 


Champollion-Figeac " 


. 456 « 


. 763 « 


Sir G. Wilkinson " " 


. 461 " 


. 732 " 


Col. Vyse " " 


. 451 " 


. 746 " 


The two distinguished scholars last quoted are undoubl 


edly worthy of implicit 



confidence ; but even these differ by ten and twelve feet, one from the other. Is 
it not possible to have the Pyramids measured so accurately as that we can be 
certain on this point 1 I would suggest, also, that perhaps the ancient writers 
do not speak of the perpendicular height of the Great Pyramid, but of the in- 
clined height, i. e., the distance from the base along the side up to the apex. 

3*- 



58 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



a long record, in Egyptian characters, of the sums expended 
in the progress of the work, for the radishes, onions and gar- 
lic consumed by the workmen. Truly, a most unique appro- 
priation of the face of so grand a monument. Of the Second 
and Third Pyramids, Herodotus speaks in brief terms, assert- 
ing, that though the body of Cheops is said to be deposited in 
the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Cephrenes had no cham- 
bers inside, and, of course, no passages similar to those in his 
brother's burial place : the mausoleum of Mycerinus, he re- 
lates, was considerably smaller than that of his father Cheops, 
and was in part constructed of Ethiopian stones. He gives 
the size of these vast structures as follows, having declared 
that he had measured them : Height of the Great Pyramid, 
eight hundred feet ; length of its sides, eight hundred feet. 
The Second Pyramid, he states, is less than that of his bro- 
ther's, and not so high by forty feet. The Third Pyramid 
he makes three hundred feet in height. 

It is not necessary that I detain you with an abstract of 
the historical statements made by Diodorus, Strabo and Pliny, 
for, substantially, they agree with what has been drawn from 
Herodotus. Diodorus (B.C. 59) gives the name of the 
founder of the Great Pyramid as Chembis or Chemmis, and 
its height as six hundred, and its breadth seven hundred feet. 
Strabo (B.C. 30) speaks of the opening near the centre of 
the First Pyramid, closed by a stone which can be removed, 
and gives the height six hundred and twenty-five feet, and the 
breadth six hundred feet. He also mentions the fragments of 
stone scattered about, resembling lentils and barley, which he 
supposes may be the petrified remains of the workmen's food. 
Pliny, (A.D. 70) stigmatizing the Pyramids as an idle and 
silly display of royal wealth, mentions " the Well" in the in- 
terior of the Great Pyramid, relates some foolish stories of the 
means used in the construction of such vast edifices, and gives 
the height of the first as seven hundred and twenty-five, and 
its breadth eight hundred and eighty-three feet. 



EARLY TRAVELLERS' NOTIONS. 



59 



Some of the early Christian travellers have related the 
traditions which prevailed in their days, which are more cu- 
rious than profitable. Bernard the Wise (A.D. 867) speaks 
of " Babylon of Egypt, where once reigned King Pharaoh, 
under whom Joseph built the seven granaries still remain- 
ing." Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveller, (A.D. 1168) 
says, " the Pyramids, which are seen here, (at Old Mizraim) 
are constructed by magic ; and in no other country or other 
place, is anything equal to them. They are composed of 
stones and cement, and are very substantial." Sir John 
Maundeville, (A.D. 1322) who abounds in marvellous stories, 
devotes a whole paragraph to the Pyramids : " Now I will 
speak of another thing that is beyond Babylon, above the 
Nile, toward the desert, between Africa and Egypt ; that is, 
of the granaries of Joseph, that he caused to be made, to 
keep the grains against the dear years. They are made of 
stone, well made by masons' craft ; two of them are marvel- 
lously great and high, the others are not so great. And each 
granary has a gate to enter within, a little above the earth ; 
for the land is wasted and fallen since the granaries were 
made. Within they are full of serpents ; and above the 
granaries without are many writings in divers languages. 
And some men say that they are sepulchres of great lords 
that were formerly ; but that is not true, for all the common 
rumor and speech of the people there, both far and near, is 
that they are the granaries of Joseph ; and so find they in 
their writings and chronicles. On the other side, if they 
were sepulchres, they would not be empty within ; for you 
may well know, that tombs and sepulchres are not made of 
such magnitude or elevation ; wherefore it is not credible 
that they are tombs or sepulchres."* 

It is a relief to turn from such garrulity to the writings of 
those learned and careful laborers in the field of Egyptian 

* See " Early Travels in Palestine," one of Bonn's " Antiquarian Library." 
It will be observed that the Editor, Mr. Wright, has modernized the spelling, which 
takes away somewhat from the quaintness and pith of the mediseval writers. 



60 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



history and literature, which the last half-century has pro- 
duced. I need but mention the names of such men as Ham- 
ilton, Belzoni, Richardson, Rosselini, the French savans, Wil- 
kinson, Vyse, Osburn, Lane, Lepsius, &c, to call to your 
recollection the pleasure and improvement drawn from their 
productions, and to induce you to refer to their elaborate vol- 
umes for the particulars which I cannot now pretend to give. 
All that I shall attempt on this occasion will be, to give you 
a brief abstract of the more probable opinions which have at 
times prevailed, or still hold sway, in respect to 1) the date 
and founders of the Pyramids, and 2) their intended uses. 

1. The question as to the date and founders of the Pyra- 
mids opens at once, as you perceive, a vast field of inquiry, 
and if treated properly, and at all fully, involves the necessity 
of entering into that very perplexing, but very important 
branch of human learning, ancient chronology ; I shall not, 
however, presume here to do more than allude to some things 
which perhaps I may be able at a later day to discuss more at 
large. Following the chronological table given by Sir Gard- 
ner Wilkinson, the Great Pyramid was built about B.C. 2123 ; 
the Second, B.C. 2083 ; the Third, B.C. 2043. The same 
high authority makes Abraham to have visited Egypt B.C. 
1920, and the Exodus to have taken place B.C. 1491. Era- 
tosthenes, as quoted by Syncellus in his Chronicle, gives the 
date of Saophis or Suphis (the same as Cheops in Herodotus) 
as B.C. 1853 ; Suphis II. (Cephrenes) B.C. 1824 ; Moscheres 
(Mycerinus) B.C. 1797. Dr. Hales, in his " New Analysis 
of Chronology," states that the First Pyramid was begun 
about B.C. 2095 ; that Abraham visited Egypt B.C. 2077 ; 
and that the Exodus occurred B.C. 1648. A learned young 
friend of mine, Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, at present a resi- 
dent of Cairo, places the reign of Suphis I., builder of the 
Great Pyramid, B.C. 2350, and dates the Exodus B.C. 
1652. # Townsend (who, with many divines of note, follows 

* See " Literary Gazette," No. 1702. Lond., Sept. 1st, 1849. 



DATE OP THE PYRAMIDS. 



61 



Ussher, or the ordinary Bible chronology,) gives the date of 
Joseph's death B.C. 1635, and expresses the opinion that 
the Pyramids were built, or rather commenced, about forty 
years subsequently, i. e., B.C. 1595. Rollin also follows 
Ussher's scheme, and gives the date of the pyramid builders 
as B.C. 1204, i. e., about three hundred years after the Ex- 
odus. Dr. Richardson, as quoted by Col. Vyse, dates them 
as low as B.C. 1032. A later school, more particularly the 
German, is disposed to give them even greater antiquity than 
is done by any of the writers above quoted. Bockh, as quoted 
by Dr. Nolan, (in his learned " Egyptian Chronology Ana- 
lyzed") makes Suphis I. to have been of the fourth dynasty, 
B.C. 4904 ; Suphis II. B.C. 4842 ; Mencheres, B.C. 4776. 
Chevalier Bunsen, who is understood to agree with Lepsius 
in all important matters, is of opinion that there are existing 
Egyptian monuments (the Pyramids are among the oldest, if 
not the oldest,) which date back more than B.C. 3000.^ Mr. 
Gliddont (in his " Otia iEgyptiaca," 1849,) speaks rather 
vaguely, but has no hesitation in carrying back the date of 
the Pyramids to more than 5000 years ago, or to about B.C. 
3500. Champollion-Figeacl places the invasion of the Hyk- 
sos, or Shepherd-Kings, about B.C. 2000, and quotes from 
Manetho's list of Egyptian Dynasties the era of Suphis, Sen- 
saouphis and Mencheres, about B.C. 5000 — 4800. The re- 
sult then is as follows : — 

The highest date claimed is (about) B.C. 4900. 
The lowest date assigned is " " 1200. 

The most probable date is " " 2100. 



* Bunsen's " Egypt's Place" &c, vol. i. p. xxviii. Introd. 

f "All the Memphite pyramids existed and were ancient 2000 years before 
Christ. All the pyramids in Lower Egypt are 4000 years old, and taking the 
pyramid of Moeris, according to Lepsius' letters, built between 2151 and 2194 
before Christ, as the last of this series, the remainder will successively recede to 
above 5000 years ago." — Gliddon's " Otia Mgyptica" p. 25. 

% This learned writer speaks of "une peuplade de Barbares ; l'histoire les a 
nommes Pasteurs et Hyksos. lis furent ses maitres pendant pres de trois siecles, 



62 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



All this is certainly dry enough, and hardly to be excused 
on any plea, unless you will tolerate it on the ground of its 
giving you a glimpse, at least, of the difficulties and uncer- 
tainties attendant upon ancient chronology in general, and 
that of Egypt in particular. It will be more interesting, I 
hope, to spend a few moments in endeavoring to ascertain 
who were the builders, or were concerned in the building of 
the Pyramids. 

Here, too, the opinions of the learned are various, and not 
very satisfactory. Some writers of eminence suppose, that 
the Jews were compelled to labor in the erection of the Pyr- 
amids. Josephus, in speaking of the various modes in which 
the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, expressly declares that 
the Pharaohs of that period, " who knew not Joseph" and his 
services, " set them also to build pyramids."* Perizonius, 
(1711) in his " History of Egypt," quotes the statement of 
Josephus, just given ; and though doubting, on the whole, the 
great antiquity of these buildings, is of opinion that they were 
constructed by the Hebrews.! Dr. Clarke (1801) inclines 
strongly to the view, that the Jews, though chiefly employed 
upon brick constructions, were occupied in the erection of 
the Pyramids of Memphis : he has, besides, a notion peculiar 
to himself, so far as I know, viz., that the Great Pyramid 
was the tomb of Joseph, and that it was opened at the Ex- 
odus, that his bones might be carried up to Judea. In Cal- 
met's " Dictionary of the Holy Bible," several pages are de- 
voted to the advocacy of the theory now under consideration : 
a degree of acuteness is displayed, but the arguments adduced 
are far from convincing.! The learned and reverend Henry 
Browne, in his " Ordo Saeclorum," (1844) is the latest writer, 
I believe, who takes this view of the question. " That the 

et ce fut d'un de ces chefs etrangers que Joseph, fils de Jacob, fut le premier 
ministre;" &c. — " Egypte Ancienne" p. 42. 

* Joseph. " Antiq." ii. 9. f See Vyse's " Pyramids" vol. ii. p. 236. 

% Calmet's " Dictionary," p. 374. Am. Ed. 1843. 



BUILDERS OF THE PYRAMIDS. 63 

Israelites were the persons employed in building the Pyramids, 
the Jews themselves at a later period believed, and it is a sup- 
position to which one is naturally led by the very terms in which 
their bondage is described in Scripture." " The truth is, doubt- 
less, that the Pyramids were raised by the labor of the Israelites 
in the time of their oppression : but in the national version of the 
story, the oppressed became the oppressors ; the Israelites, under 
the name of Hyksos, were represented as a godless race of shep- 
herds, who caused these vast monuments of their tyranny to be 
reared by the labor of the Egyptians." The same author 
thinks, that the name Suphis or Saophis, is, in reality, the 
very name Joseph ; and that when his memory became odious 
to the Egyptians, they set him forth as " an invading tyrant, 
at the head of a horde of godless shepherds (Salatis), and 
withal, as the builder of the Great Pyramid (Suphis or Che- 
ops)."* I do not know how these sentiments may strike 
your mind, or whether you will be able to see any force in 
the arguments used, to support the opinion of the Jews' con- 
nection with the erection of the Pyramids : for my own part, 
I cannot accede to this view, for several reasons, but princi- 
pally the deficiency of everything like proof in its support. 
I am much disposed to prefer the more commonly adopted 
view, that the Pyramids were erected by the Shepherd Kings, 
during the time of their rule in Egypt. This would accord 
very well with the great antiquity of these vast monuments, 
and would serve, in some measure, at least, to explain the 
reason why " every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyp- 
tians."! If it be true, as is generally agreed at the present 
day, that Egypt was overrun by a foreign tribe, known in 
history as the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings ; and if it be true 
that they established their power, maintained their supremacy 
for some hundreds of years, (Dr. Hales says 260 years,) and 
treated their conquered subjects with severity amounting to 
actual tyranny, the supposition does not, certainly, seem im- 

* Browne's " Ordo Saclorum," pp. 587, 594, 595. f Gen - xlvi - 34 - 



64 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



probable, that they might have been the founders of the Pyr- 
amids, and that they might have hit on this plan as an excel- 
lent one for breaking down the spirit of the people, and for 
preventing any sudden or violent outbreak. Now you will 
observe, that I have ventured to think, that about B.C. 2100 
is the most probable date of the Pyramids ; if this be so, 
Abraham (according to Dr. Hales's Chronology), appears to 
have visited Egypt about B.C. 2077 ; and the Shepherd 
dynasty to have been expelled by the efforts of the native 
kings, who probably retained all along their dominion in the 
Thebaid, about B.C. 1900 : Joseph — following the same 
learned author — was appointed governor or regent under one 
of the Pharaohs, who were native kings, B.C. 1872, and his 
father and family came and settled in the land of Goshen, 
only a few years subsequently. The recent expulsion of the 
Hyksos was fresh in the memories of the people, and those 
mighty masses, the Pyramids, were striking mementos to 
their minds, of foreign invasion and oppression. Hence, on 
this hypothesis, we can understand the significancy of that 
expression, that shepherds were regarded as an abomination 
by the Egyptians ; not, probably, all shepherds, for the Egyp- 
tians themselves had flocks and herds, but shepherds who 
came from abroad, and towards whom, having no natural 
affinity, they entertained invincible repugnance and hatred. 
I am well aware, that very much of what I have stated as 
most probable on this subject, is yet unsubstantiated by proof; 
but as it is most likely, that for many years to come we shall 
be under the guidance of theories and great names, instead 
of clear and satisfactory evidence, I hope that you will agree 
with me in looking upon this hypothesis as, all things con- 
sidered, quite as reasonable as any other. Sir Gardner Wil- 
kinson expresses himself on these points, with a candor and 
fairness worthy of all praise : let me quote his words : — " I 
have supposed the date of the Great Pyramid, or the reign 
of Suphis, to be about B.C. 2120 ; but this is a conjecture 



INTENT OF THE PYRAMIDS. 



65 



which remains to be confirmed or refuted by future discov- 
eries. At all events, the opinion of those who conclude from 
the Pyramids not being mentioned in the Bible, and by Homer, 
that they did not exist before the Exodus, nor at the time of 
the poet, is totally inadmissible ; and we may, with equal 
readiness, reject the assertion of those who pretend that the 
Jews aided in their construction. With regard to the opinion 
that those kings were foreigners, arguments may be found 
both to refute and support it. The style of architecture, the 
sculptures in the tombs, and the scenes they represent, are 
all Egyptian ; and there are no subjects relating to another 
race, or to customs differing from those of the country. On 
the other hand, the aversion stated by Herodotus to have been 
felt by the Egyptians for the memory of their founders, if 
really true, would accord with the oppression of foreign tyrants. 
Other strangers who ruled in Egypt employed native archi- 
tects and sculptors ; and it is remarkable that, with the excep- 
tion of the Sphinx, Campbell's tomb, and a few others, the 
Pyramids and the monuments about them, are confined to 
nearly the same period. But, however strong the last may 
appear in favor of a foreign dynasty, it must be remembered 
that all the tombs of Beni Hassan were, in like manner, 
made within the short period of two or three reigns ; and 
many other cemeteries seem to have been used for a limited 
time, both at Thebes and other places."* 

2. It is a question of considerable interest as to what were 
the intended uses of the Pyramids ; and here too there is 
nearly as much disagreement as in respect to the date and 
founders of these massive monuments. It has been conjec- 
tured by a writer of eminence, as quoted by Dr. Russell, that 
inasmuch as the entrance to the Pyramids is on the north 
side, near the centre, and the angle of inclination is in every 
case about 27°, there must have been intended by this some 
special connection with the science of astronomy, to which 

* < ; Hand Book for Egypt" p. J 97. 



66 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



we know the ancient priests of Egypt were greatly addicted. 
Weight seems to be added to this opinion by the fact that the 
Pyramids uniformly face the four cardinal points, which could 
hardly have been the effect of chance, and almost demon- 
strates the advance in science of the ancient Egyptians. A 
recent French writer* has devoted a or>od deal of learning to 
the advocacy of the theory, that the Pyramids were erected 
for the purpose of preventing the encroachments of the sands 
of the desert on this side of the valley of the Nile : by the 
kindness of a friend and fellow- voyager I have been permitted 
to peruse this volume, but though interesting, it is not to my 
mind at all convincing. Mr. Agnew, an English scholar, in 
the year 1838, broached a novel theory ; he supposed that 
the Egyptians were so scientific as to have attained to a 
knowledge of squaring the circle, and that they " sought in 
the appropriate figure of the Pyramid to perpetuate a portion 
of their geometrical science." Dr. Shaw, and some few others, 
think that these vast erections were used for the purpose of 
worshipping in them the deity which was typified in the out- 
ward form of the Pyramid, that is, that they were temples 
rather than anything else. Not to dwell upon other theories, 
I may mention that the one most usually adopted, and which 
has the least difficulties connected with it, is that which is 
derived from the ancients, and which makes them to have 
been built for tombs or sepulchres. While I am not thor- 
oughly convinced on the point, I must confess that this is, on 
the whole, the most probable supposition ; it is not unlikely 
too, that they may have subserved another, or other purposes, 
and thus, though primarily intended as tombs, may still have 
been used for scientific purposes. Such is the opinion of Sir 
Gardner Wilkinson, than whom there is no higher authority. 
" I do not presume (he says) to explain the real object for 
which the Pyramids were built, but feel persuaded that they 
served for tombs, and were also intended for astronomical 

* M. de Persigny, !t De la destination des Pyi-amides" &c. 1845. 



dr. Johnson's opinion. 



67 



purposes. For though it is in vain to look for the pole-star 
in latitude 30°, at the bottom of a passage descending at an 
angle of 27°, or to imagine that a closed passage, or that a 
Pyramid covered with a smooth inaccessible casing, were 
intended for an observatory, yet the form of the exterior 
might lead to many useful calculations. They stand exactly 
due north and south, and while the direction of the faces, 
east and west, might serve to fix the return of a certain pe- 
riod of the year, the shadow cast by the sun at the time of 
its coinciding with their slope, might be observed for a simi- 
lar purpose."* Such is doubtless the most sober and judi- 
cious opinion in the present state of our knowledge respecting 
Egypt and its wonders ; and here I am disposed to leave the 
whole subject, begging, however, as a relief to the dry and 
dull manner with which I have imposed upon you in this 
discussion, to quote the words of a wise and good *nan in 
reference to these mausoleums of the Pharaohs : — " For the 
Pyramids no reason has ever been given, adequate to the cost 
and labor of the work. The narrowness of the chambers 
proves that it could afford no retreat from enemies, and treas- 
ures might have been reposited at far less expense with equal 
security. It seems to have been erected only in compliance 
with that hunger of imagination which preys incessantly upon 
life, and must be always appeased by some employment. 
Those who have already all that they can enjoy, must en- 
large their desires. He that has built for use till use is sup- 
plied, must begin to build for variety, and extend his plan to 
the utmost power of human performance, that he may not 
soon be reduced to form another wish. I consider this mighty 
structure as a monument of the insufficiency of human en- 
joyments. A king whose power is unlimited, and whose 
treasures surmount all real and imaginary wants, is com- 
pelled to solace, by the erection of a Pyramid, the satiety of 
dominion and tastelessness of pleasures, and to amuse the 

* ([ Hand Book for Egypt," p. 185. 



68 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tedioHsness of declining life, by seeing thousands laboring 
without end, and one stone, for no purpose, laid upon an- 
other. Whoever thou art, that, not content with a moder- 
ate condition, imaginest happiness in royal magnificence, and 
dreamest that command or riches can feed the appetite of 
novelty with perpetual gratifications, survey the Pyramids, 
and confess thy folly !"* 

But a truce to this long discussion. I shall not soon ven- 
ture to trespass upon you in a similar way ; and I feel that 
at this joyous season, when you at home are celebrating the 
Christmas holidays, it is too great a tax to impose upon any 
one to ask him to wade through the deep and dark waters of 
doubt and mystery which, as it were, encompass the whole 
land of Egypt. Let me tell you of other things, which, though 
more common-place, are not, I trust, less interesting. The 
evening* and night of the 22d ult. were spent in our tent, 
over which waved the beautiful flag of our country. A regu- 
lar watch was established, and save some slight disturbance 
produced by the braying of a donkey, and the everlasting 
chatter of the Arabs, who were awake and seated round a 
fire, the night passed quietly.t We arose the next morning 
very early, and beheld a most gorgeous sunrise, clear, bright, 
unclouded, and shedding a new glory upon those vast struc- 
tures which the rays of the sun have illumined day by day 
for thousands of years.- On breaking up our encampment, 
we had rather an amusing, but somewhat vexatious scene. 
Mr. and Mrs. B., who, I am sorry to say, will not proceed 
up the Nile this season, were going to visit, on the 23d, the 
Pyramids of Sakhara and that neighborhood, and conse- 
quently wished not only to retain the services of the janis- 

* Dr. Johnson's t! Basselc^," ch. xxxii. 

| I found it rather cool, almost cold, in the night ; the thermometer at 5 P. M. 
stood at 67° ; in the middle of the night, 50° ; and the next morning at 7, 52°. 
This, I believe, is about the usual range : Mr. Lane remarks, (vol. i. p. 12) that 
" a penetrating cold is felt in Egypt when the thermometer of Fahrenheit is be- 
low 60°." 



EXCITEMENT ON LEAVING. 69 

sary of the American consulate, but to get off as early as 
possible, so as to return to Cairo the same day. A party of 
at least fifty wild Arabs gathered around in expectation of 
that greatest of all delights to a Bedawy, getting of bakh- 
shish. Every fellow whom you had looked at, or rapped 
over the knuckles, or driven off, or almost trampled under 
foot in your vexation, came for bakhshish; the black eyes 
flashed with eagerness ; the boy with his goolel or water-jug, 
the one who had lent a helping-hand in the ascent or forced 
himself upon you when visiting the interior, the old and the 
young, the sheikh of the village near by, and the naked vag- 
abond, all pressed forward and cried the well-known Arab 
cry, " bakhshish, bakhshish !" The boys and half-grown men, 
at one side, significantly drew their fingers across their mouths, 
and then snapped them like the lash of a whip, pointing fur- 
tively to the sheikh, and implored us not to give their bakh- 
shish into his hands, since, in that case, poor fellows, they stood 
very little chance of ever seeing a para of it in their own 
possession. While our friend the janissary remained, things 
went on pretty well, and the clamor was kept within due 
bounds ; he whirled his staff of office about without regard 
to whom he struck, and with hearty good- will, and through 
him we paid every man at least five times as much as he 
deserved. Mr. and Mrs. B. bade us good-morning, and pre- 
ceded by the janissary, rode off towards Sakhara ; and then 
you should have seen what a storm of noise and confusion 
was stirred up ! they crowded round us by dozens, not a sin- 
gle one satisfied, and all excited to a degree beyond what is 
usual even among Arabs ; they shouted for more, more ! laid 
their hands upon the heads of our donkeys, and seemed dis- 
posed to proceed to extremities. Happily we did not lose our 
presence of mind, but we did become indignant, and spring- 
ing on the backs of our trusty steeds, we warned them to 
clear the road, and flinging aside every fellow who stood in 
the way, we dashed forward over the sands towards Gizeh. 



70 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND 



The insatiable troop followed us a long way ; but by degrees 
they tired out, and we were left in peace to return to Cairo. 
We reached the city about mid-day, without accident, and 
highly gratified with our visit to the Pyramids. Would that 
I could persuade myself that my imperfect description was 
capable of conveying to you a moiety of the pleasure which I 
have myself enjoyed ; but I fear greatly it will be otherwise, 
and can only beseech you to receive what I have written, not 
for its intrinsic value, but rather in proportion to the deep 
and true regard which I know you entertain for one who, an 
exile and wanderer, 

" drags at each remove a lengthening chain." 



LETTER IV. 

%\iz on &i)t Ktle. 

Romance of Life on the Nile. — Our Boat, the " Ibis."— Description of it. — The Reis, Pilot and 
Crew.— Their Characters and Habits.— Dragoman and Servants.— A Day Described.— Ad- 
venture with Dogs on Shore. — Other Adventures and Exploits. — Characteristics of this Sort 
of Life. 

On the Nile, Lat. 25°, Jan. 25th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

We have now been several weeks on the Nile. Much 
of novelty and interest, and not a little of romance, attaches 
to life such as this, gliding day after day over the broad 
surface of a mighty river, and passing through scenes unri- 
valled in the history of the world. The complete change from 
one's ordinary habits, and the deprivation of most of the refined 
comforts of civilized life, are not without their attractiveness ; 
while the freedom, and entire absence of all restraint, and all 
control, save what one's fancy may dictate, or one's sense of 
propriety require, have a charm which it is not easy to ex- 
press in words. The dreamy stillness of the atmosphere, the 
air of repose spread over all surrounding objects, the pictur- 
esque villages amid the groves of stately palms, the fields of 
grain, rich in verdure of exquisite beauty, the clear transpa- 
rency of the azure skies, the magnificent brilliancy and splen- 
dor of the starry vault of heaven, and such-like characteristics 
of oriental life and scenery, are full of delightful variety, and 
of those pleasures which are peculiarly the reward of travel. 
To most of persons, young persons especially, the romance of 
a boat life on the Nile outweighs all considerations of its 



72 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tediousness, monotony, and tendency to produce ennui; and, 
indeed, I am not surprised that such should be the case ; for 
the rules of society in our advanced stage of civilization, are 
imagined, or found to be so full of restraint upon the exuber- 
ance of youth, and the enthusiasm of early life, that any 
state of things which tends to remove this burdensome con- 
trol, and permits the free and unrestrained enjoyment of what 
one's fancy, or taste, or inclination suggests, is apt to be 
hailed with the brightest anticipations of pleasure. You will 
not wonder, then, if I frankly confess the truth, that we, too, 
had our share of enthusiasm, and could not resist the influ- 
ence of romantic expectations: we, too, in the dim and 
shadowy future, beheld many adventures in store for us; 
many wonders to be enjoyed, not inferior to the glowing 
stories of the " Thousand-and-one Nights ;" and many grand 
and strange scenes, of which we had as yet formed no sort 
of clear conception. Bear with me for a while, and I will 
tell you, most honestly, what has been our experience. 

Our boat, which is one of the oest on the river, we have 
named the "Ibis;" her burden is 220 ardebbs (=nearly 30 . 
tons), and her rig of the style usual in the Mediterranean 
and Archipelago, viz., one large triangular sail near the bow, 
and another much smaller one placed at the stern, near the 
rudder, together with oars fitted to the sides, principally for 
use in descending the river. About half the length of the 
boat is devoted to the cabin and the uses of the party on 
board: before the cabin entrance is a sort of alcove, with 
cushions to sit or lean upon — one of the pleasantest spots on 
board ; next we enter the cabin proper, which is about six and 
a half feet high, by nine broad, and seven long, with divans on 
each side to lounge upon in the day-time, and repose oneself dur- 
ing the long evening and night. After this principal apart- 
ment, which serves for our dining-room, our place of reading or 
writing, or anything else we choose, comes a second division 
of the space devoted to our use, with a narrow passage be- 



OUR DAHABIYEH. 



73 



tween ; on one side a berth for sleeping in, and on the other 
a convenient pantry. Behind these is still another apartment, 
which may, when needed, be used for sleeping in ; but as we 
do not require it for that purpose, we have made it a general 
store-room for books, luggage of various sorts, bedding, &c. 
Over the deck, directly in front of the cabin, there is an 
awning, which renders the seats in the alcove, if so I may 
term it, all the more cool and delightful, and gives us an op- 
portunity to have our carpets spread, to take coffee, to offer 
our visitors pipes and refreshments, or to lay half at length, 
supported on an arm or by a cushion, gazing at the shore and 
its many picturesque objects, as they pass slowly before the 
eyes. The remainder of the forepart of the vessel is occu- 
pied by the cook's apparatus, the small space where the crew 
gather in a group to eat, where they sleep, &c, and the 
slightly elevated spot, just by the bow, where usually the reis 
sits cross-legged on his carpet, and at stated hours says his 
prayers, with his face scrupulously turned towards Mecca. 
The roof of the cabin serves, in some measure, as an upper 
deck, and here the pilot holds sway, an officer of special im- 
portance on a boat which navigates the Nile, since the channel 
is continually changing, and it requires incessant watch to 
avoid the shoals and sand-banks ; on this upper deck, too, are 
kept various articles, needful to the boat's supplies, as a kaffas 
for fowls, turkeys, &c. Our flag-staff is directly over the 
stern, and from it float, in all their beauty, the stars and 
stripes ; and at the end of the long yard is our private signal, 
by which it can be known to any countrymen who follow us 
up the river, what party is on board the " Ibis," we having, 
according to custom, left with the consul a description of the 
signal which distinguishes our boat. The entire length of 
the " Ibis" is rather more than sixty feet, its greatest breadth 
ten feet, and it draws between three and four feet water. 
But you will, I suspect, obtain a more definite idea of what 
I have been attempting to describe, by looking at the spirited 

4 



74 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



sketch of our boat, which my friend, Mr. Atkinson, made for 
me one day, while we were at anchor near Kineh. It is, I 
can assure you, very life-like, indeed. 

I trust you will excuse this dry detail, as in some degree 
necessary to render at all clear our position, and the mode 
of life in which we indulge : habit has rendered us so accus- 
tomed to our boat and its accommodations, that it seems 
almost like home, and one is gradually led to enlarge upon 
the topic as he would in speaking of home, though that is 
often of interest to no one else so much as himself. The 
" Ibis," however, has other and more striking points : she is 
manned by a reis, pilot and ten men. Sherkawy, our reis, is 
of the Barabra or Nubian race, and is really one of the best- 
looking men that I have met with in the East. He has a 
decidedly good face, high projecting forehead, bright-black 
eyes, very dark skin, good teeth, and regular features ; he is 
about five feet ten inches in height, rather spare in person, 
and when occasion offers, displays great muscular power. In 
general he sits on the small elevated space near the bow, 
keeping a good look out, and issuing his orders or exhortations 
with vigor and decision : sometimes he mounts the upper 
deck, and holds a conference with the pilot, a grim-visaged, 
one-eyed Palinurus, who rarely changes his position or utters 
a word. At stated hours the reis spreads his carpet for 
prayer,* and goes through the required Mohammedan wor- 
ship with scrupulous exactness, and with an evident devoted- 
ness, which has excited in me much regret and compassion, 
seeing that he knows not the pure faith of the Gospel. On 
the whole, while it is hardly possible to find one of his class 
free from the vices for which his countrymen are celebrated, 

* " Mohammed obliged his followers to pray five times every twenty- four 
hours, at certain times; viz. 1. In the morning, before sunrise : 2. When noon 
is past, and the sun begins to decline from the meridian: 3. In the afternoon, 
before sunset : 4. In the evening, after sunset, and before day be shut in : and 
5. After the day is shut in. and before the first watch of the night." — Sale's 
" Koran' 1 Prel. Disc. p. 76. 



CREW OF THE " IBIS." 



75 



I candidly believe that our friend Sherkawy is one of the few- 
fair and honorable men who command boats on the Nile. 

Our crew is a rather nondescript set ; some are Arabs, and 
of a lighter or tawny hue, others are Nubians, and almost 
coal black, with features which render it difficult to distin- 
guish them from negroes, besides being very like to them in 
other respects. They are a light-hearted, good-natured race, 
agreeing excellently well together, and working with good- 
will and a patient endurance which is rather remarkable, but 
as I have before noticed, without accomplishing any great 
amount after all. Full of merriment and noise, like all par- 
tially civilized nations, they are extravagantly fond of amuse- 
ments, however simple and childish, as they might appear to 
us ; they work with a song, they are pleased with a rude 
strain of music, of the plainest character; they laugh exces- 
sively at jests of the most ridiculous and pointless description, 
and, day after day, the same song, the same jest, the same 
monotonous music, please them just as much as ever. If a 
rope is to be pulled, an oar to be handled, a pole to be used, 
the boat to be dragged by means of a long tow-line, they do 
all with a simple song, in which is a strange mixture of reli- 
gion and profanity,* now calling upon Allah and Mohammed, 
now bursting out into some buffoonery or indecency, now 
laughing, now shouting and gesticulating, with an excite- 
ment amounting almost to fury, till the end sought is obtain- 
ed, when a sigh of satisfaction is heard, followed by a pious 
exclamation, and generally a low laugh of gratified content- 
ment. And thus they live, willing to work, and working with 
cheerfulness, and, in general, ready obedience ; yet, by no 
means free from the vices of obstinacy, deceit and falsehood ; 
they make no pretensions to religious character ; not one of 
them knows how to read (the reis included) ; and I have 
never seen a single individual take the trouble to go through 

* See some curious illustrations of this feature in Egyptian character in Mr. 
Lane's chapter on " Music," &c. — " Modern Egyptians" &c, vol. ii. p. 69-104. 



76 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



with his prayers, on any occasion since we have been on 
board. Honest we have thus far found them, but not always 
truth-telling, and not always to be relied on, where their fears 
of punishment or their desires of gain interpose. With 
care and decision there is no difficulty in managing them, 
especially if the custom of giving bakhshish be judiciously 
adhered to, so that they shall not receive presents without 
having worked for them, nor having labored with unusual 
diligence, shall fail of obtaining the desired reward. 

Besides the crew, we have our dragoman, Maltese cook, 
and native servant, each important in his way, and quite 
necessary to the establishment. Antonio, our dragoman, is of 
Syrian origin, a Christian and, I believe, a man of good prin- 
ciple. He understands and speaks accurately the Arabic, 
Turkish and modern Greek, and acts as. our interpreter on 
occasions where either of those languages is to be employed. 
Quick-tempered, active, diligent, and well-informed, we have 
found him abundantly capable to discharge any duty within 
his province ; and being, withal, possessed of great physical 
power, which he does not scruple to use when need requires, 
he manages matters excellently with the reis and crew, as 
well as the various and motley company that we fall in with 
by the way. Our Maltese servant we brought with us from 
Valetta ; he furnishes us with a variety of articles from his 
cuisine, some of which are very good, and some extremely 
indifferent ; he is very much like those of his countrymen 
whom I have met with, simple, good-natured, and easy-tem- 
pered, but tinctured with the vices which seem inherent in 
the natives of that rocky isle ; under a strict master he would 
do very well, but he requires close looking after and watch- 
ing, and we have had occasion now and then to be dissatisfied 
with his deportment. Our Arab boy is an idle, good-natured, 
good-for-nothing young fellow, who does odds and ends about 
the boat, helps the cook, &c, and like the natives of Egypt 



BOAT LIFE ON THE NILE. 77 

in general, requires to be watched and made to know that he 
has a master. 

These are particulars hardly worth relating, and certainly 
of little consequence in themselves ; but as illustrative of life 
on the Nile, and the multifarious preparation required for a 
journey of this sort, may not be deemed quite out of place. 
In truth, it is rather a serious matter to get entirely ready 
for some two months' absence in a boat, where you are com- 
pelled to furnish yourself with everything, down to the small- 
est, with stores of all kind, just as one would supply his 
house, with beds and bedding, articles of comfort or pleasure, 
&c. The larger part of these arrangements fell upon me, as 
it happened, and I assure you I got not a little confused in 
the midst of bread, potatoes, tea, coffee, salt, pepper, pickles, 
butter, dried fruits, crackers, and fifty other things which go 
to make up stores for a voyage : had I not been so highly fa- 
vored as to have the aid of my very kind friend Mrs. Lieder, 
in providing not only things to eat, but the nameless variety 
of articles for the uses of the cabin as well as the kitchen, I 
fear I should have made some strange blunders, and our trip 
been wanting in many of the comforts which we have pos- 
sessed. But not to dwell upon these, as comparatively insig- 
nificant matters, let me endeavor to give you an idea of how 
we live, by describing a day on the Nile, and by telling you 
of some of our adventures and exploits. Possibly I may suc- 
ceed in imparting to you some of the enjoyment which has 
fallen to our lot in ascending the great river of Egypt. 

We usually rise between six and seven o'clock, which at 
this season, in this latitude, is about sunrise ; ablutions are 
performed in rather primitive style on the deck in front of 
the cabin ; breakfast is at eight o'clock, when we can suc- 
ceed in getting milk in time from a neighboring village. 
After this, those of us who smoke take a pipe, and in imita- 
tion of the Turks, enjoy the exciting effect produced by to- 
bacco ; but as this weed, in all its shapes, is my aversion, 1 



78 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



follow my taste in any way that fancy may suggest. At one 
time a book has charms, at another I prefer using a pen, or 
perhaps a pencil ; again, feeling the want of exercise, I pace 
the deck ; or being too indolent for walking, I stretch myself 
out on a carpet or diwan,'and gaze idly at the passing scene 
on shore, in musing mood over home and its pleasures. When 
the wind fails or blows in a contrary direction, the men at- 
tach themselves to a long rope and drag the boat by main 
force, though of course very slowly, against the strong cur- 
rent which sets constantly towards the Mediterranean. At 
such times, if we feel .in the humor, we go ashore with a 
gun, and occasionally find some game to add variety to our 
table ; or if we fail in that, we have a delightful stroll along 
the banks of the river, or penetrate somewhat into the inte- 
rior for a mile or so, to an out-of-the-way village, where our 
presence stirs up not only the men, women and children, 
who come out of their mud huts to look at the stranger, but 
what is considerably worse, the lean and hungry dogs, who 
bark furiously, and are ready to rush upon one the moment 
he is off his guard. 

One day I went ashore entirely alone, and walking along 
much faster than the men who were dragging the boat, I got 
considerably ahead of it. Just here was a small village situ- 
ate in a grove of palms, as usual. While looking around for 
some birds worth shooting at, I saw three wolfish-looking dogs 
rush out of a mud hut, and fasten upon a boy who was pass- 
ing quietly along : he shouted out lustily, and soon obtained 
relief. The moment after, the dogs spied me through the 
trees, and set off at the top of their speed in pursuit of new 
game. Fortunately I had a double-barrelled gun with me, 
and standing perfectly still, I waited their approach, deter- 
mined to settle the matter very speedily with them : on they 
rushed, till within about five feet of my person, when, find- 
ing that matters were becoming serious, I fired a charge of 
shot into one of them, and he rolled over and over, howling 



ADVENTURE ON SHORE. 



79 



dreadfully, while his companions slunk off as quick as possi- 
ble. But this was by no means the end of my adventure. 
In a few minutes, as I was walking along, I heard a great 
noise and shouting behind me, and soon became aware that 
the entire population of the village was in pursuit. Certainly 
I had not calculated for this result, but I put a bold face upon 
the matter, and facing the crowd of some fifty or a hundred 
people, I distinctly warned them off by pointing to my gun, 
and bringing it to bear for use if required : there I stood for 
quite a long time, and listened to a diatribe from a most im- 
passioned speaker, who gesticulated furiously, and evidently 
demanded satisfaction for the loss of the dog. As my knowl- 
edge of Arabic is not extensive, and as it is difficult even for 
a good scholar to keep up with the Arabs, who can talk faster, 
it is said, and as I now believe, than anybody else in the 
world, you may be sure that I caught only here and there 
the meaning, and am not able to give an abstract of so ani- 
mated a speech. Not to be behind-hand with them, I made 
a reply, not quite so lengthy as my opponent's oration, but 
I flatter myself more to the point ; I insisted upon the fact 
that the dog was shot in self-defence, that consequently it 
was no fault of mine, and that if it were necessary I should 
defend myself in the same way against the assaults of man 
or dog. All this was delivered in excellent English, and lis- 
tened to with commendable gravity by the major part of the 
audience ; but as I did not exactly fancy standing alone 
against so great a force, I entrenched myself behind a large 
boat drawn up on the shore, and waited the motions of the 
villagers. For a while things looked rather threatening and 
uncomfortable, for one man against a hundred ; but after 
two or three more speeches were made, some consultations 
had, and a good deal of hesitation shown as to the course 
they should adopt, the affair was ended by their drawing off 
and leaving me to walk back and rejoin our boat. 

About five o'clock dinner is served up, in no particular 



80 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



style, as you will easily imagine, but usually consisting of 
the various articles which can be obtained in this part of the 
country. Beef is a meat we can very seldom get, as the 
pasha has forbidden the slaughtering of animals so valuable, 
and at present so scarce, as the buffalo breed of oxen, &c. : 
hence, as sheep and goats are numerous, mutton is our sta- 
ple, and for variety, we have chickens, now and then a tur- 
key or goose, and pigeons, or such birds as may be shot by 
any of the party when on shore. Vegetables are not easily 
obtained ; potatoes are very dear, and mast be brought from 
Cairo ; but onions, coarse beans, and salads, are found in 
abundance all along the river ; and as already our potatoes 
are gone, we have to depend upon those articles, for which 
Egypt, in the days of Moses, was celebrated, and for which 
the rebellious Jews longed so eagerly.* Dinner being an 
important meal, it is protracted generally as long as possible, 
not so much on account of the attractive fare set before us, 
as because it is something of an object to get through with a 
portion of time, where there is so little variety to relieve the 
monotony of day after day, and week after week's limited 
amount of occupations and enjoyments. During the long 
evenings, after tea, as the air is damp and chilly, we usually 
confine ourselves to the cabin, and peruse and reperuse the 
scanty stock of books which we have brought with us ; or 
attempt to write ; or engage in conversation, or something 
of the sort, till the hour of retiring, which is usually at ten 
or eleven o'clock. 

You must not infer, my dear S., from this meagre outline, 
that all days pass stupidly and lazily with us, in the mere 
succession of getting up, eating, drinking, smoking and sleep- 
ing. By no means ; we do have inklings of adventure every 

* " The children of Israel wept again, and said, who shall give us flesh to 
eat 1 We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely : the cucumbers, 
and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic : but now our soul 
is dried away : there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." — 
Numb. xi. 4-6. 



BATTLE WITH THE SHADTJF MEN. 81 

now and then, and we occasionally meet with something, which 
breaks in upon the monotony of every-day life. As we were 
coming up the river, little more than two weeks ago, we 
passed the Beni Hassan district, the reputation of which is 
exceedingly bad. The inhabitants of the villages were noto- 
rious thieves and vagabonds, so much so, that Ibrahim Pasha, 
about twenty-seven years ago, administered to them oriental 
justice in its fullest extent. He sent a body of troops, com- 
pletely destroyed every village in the obnoxious district, and 
flogged, fined, and enlisted a considerable portion of the in- 
habitants. Nevertheless, the evil was not wholly eradicated. 
The present race are little if any better than their predeces- 
sors ; and it is necessary to be on one's guard more than 
ordinarily, the whole distance from Beni Hassan to Manfalut 
( = about 55 miles). It happened one day, that our men were 
on shore, dragging the boat, as usual when the wind is ahead, 
and making very slow and tedious progress ; all along the 
banks of the river, as the Nile is now quite low, the rude 
machinery of the shaduf was in operation ; and it required a 
little care to pass the tow-line, without coming in contact 
with the long pole, or some other part of the shaduf. By and 
by, as we were sitting very indolently, and looking out upon 
the water, wishing for favorable wind, we heard a noise and 
shouting on the shore, which seemed to betoken a disturbance 
of peaceful relations. Sure enough, our crew and the shaduf 
men had got up a regular fight, and the latter appeared to 
have altogether the best of it. We called to the old pilot to 
run the " Ibis" in shore, being determined to have a closer 
look at matters, and to interfere, if necessary. A few mo- 
ments brought us upon the scene of action, when we found 
the fortune of war changing: our men had got their long 
sticks or clubs from the boat, and, instead of using the flat 
of the hand as before (the fist is peculiar to Anglo-Saxon 
fighting), were belaboring their opponents with something 
more serious in its effects : one fellow was knocked down by 

4* 



82 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



a club ; and I thought that the buffoon, who was very brave, 
now that his party was in the majority, would have killed 
the almost naked vagabond, whom he was beating over the 
head without mercy. As it was, the fellow was left appar- 
ently insensible ; and our men, raising the cry of victory, 
and after the manner of warriors on a larger scale, carrying 
destruction into the enemy's country, resumed the more 
humble and more useful occupation of dragging the boat. 

One evening we arrived at a village, where we purposed 
remaining for the night, since without wind it is quite impos- 
sible to do anything after dark. The bank was higher than 
usual, and the village was situate on the water's edge, 
amid a fine grove of palms. Curiosity had brought out nearly 
all the people, and men, women and children, squatting on 
their haunches, or with their legs under them, occupied them- 
selves in looking at us and watching our movements. Just 
as the twilight was deepening into the gloom of night, there 
appeared symptoms of not a very pleasant character, among 
the people on shore. Some words, more in jest than anything 
else, as I supposed, passed between our crew and the vil- 
lagers, when, to my surprise, a stone was thrown into the 
boat, and soon after a whole volley followed. This time our 
dragoman took the lead, and with an immense pair of pistols 
in his belt, dashed into the midst of his opponents : the crew 
seized their clubs, and manfully seconded Antonio : Messrs. P. 
and A. and myself formed a corps de reserve, and were ready 
to take any steps which might be deemed necessary. A most 
tremendous noise and confusion ensued, and for a while it 
appeared very doubtful whether we should not have to storm 
the village, in order to recover our men ; but by and by, 
Antonio appeared again, and, dragging a wretched-looking fel- 
low by the nape of the neck, brought his prize on board. The 
poor creature was in a state of awful terror, and thought that we 
were going either to shoot him or cut his throat. He begged, 
he plead, he supplicated in the most abject terms ; he was 



ADVENTURE AT ESNEH. 



83 



ready to make any concessions, and promise anything in the 
world for the future ; and after keeping him a considerable 
time, and listening to various deputations from the shore for 
his release, we let him go, with the • most solemn assurance 
that a repetition of the offence would meet with condign 
punishment. Not long after, the sheikh of the village came, 
and, apologizing for what had taken place, drove the people 
away from the river's bank, and left us to pass the night in 
peace. 

A more serious affair occurred at Esneh, a city of some 
size, and of more notoriety than goodness of character. We 
arrived here in the course of the morning, and, drawing up 
to the bank, in company with other boats, we intended to 
remain till the next day. I had a call to make on the bishop 
of Esneh, the temple was to be explored, some other matters 
to be attended to, &c, which gave us occupation during the 
day. I ought to mention, that at all towns or villages of 
any size, there are a number of petty, rude cafes, where 
pipes, coffee, &c, are furnished. Our crew were scattered 
about in various directions, enjoying themselves in any way that 
they pleased. At a late hour, about ten o'clock, we sent one 
of the two or three remaining on board to call in his compan- 
ions. Now, according to the rule or law (established, I be- 
lieve, by the government), it is not allowed for any boatmen, 
after dark, to be on shore without a lantern ; if they are 
found so, the guard is empowered to arrest them. As the 
cafe to which he was going is not more than fifty or sixty 
feet from the boat, our messenger thought that he might ven- 
ture to go without his fanus or paper lantern ; but it was an 
unwise step. A rough fellow, armed with a sword and long 
Arab musket, was on duty, and he laid hands on our man 
before he had time to get through with his errand. In his 
fright, he called out to his companions for help, and they, 
nothing loath, rushed on shore, sticks in hand: the guard was 
perfectly furious, and when he obtained a reinforcement, was 



84 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



going to capture the entire crew of the " Ibis :" one or two 
were knocked down, and the matter began to look rather 
serious. Antonio dashed into the midst of the fray, which 
so exasperated the guard, that the scoundrel attempted to 
run our dragoman through the body with his sword. Fortu- 
nately, our Maltese servant, who had served in an English 
man-of-war, was at hand, and seeing the design of the Arab, 
he very coolly but effectually planted his fist between the 
fellow's eyes, and left him sprawling on the ground. Antonio 
seized the sword, and, half fighting his way, and getting out 
of the confusion as well as he could, he and the men soon 
after reached the boat. From appearances on shore, we con- 
cluded that further trouble was brewing; and not exactly 
liking to come into collision with the ruling powers, we 
deemed it most prudent to leave Esneh at once, even at that 
late hour. We did so, sword and all, expecting during the 
night to be pursued, and to have a battle ; but nothing occur- 
red till the next day, when to our surprise a boat overtook 
us, charged with an humble apology, and a respectful request 
that we would give up our trophy of victory ! Looking at 
it, as a whole, and considering the danger to which we were 
exposed, I cannot help thinking that we got off remarkably 
well. 

I shall not bestow any more of my tediousness upon you, 
my dear S., by attempting to describe several other adven- 
tures which we have met with in our journey up the Nile. 
It may suffice to declare that in general the days pass, with 
little of variety, but still no small share of pleasure : some- 
times there is excitement, even to us, in the boat getting 
aground, and the noisy efforts put forth by the naked crew 
to get her off; in the head winds and calms, and the occa- 
sional puffs of fair wind, which blows just long enough to fill 
us with hope, and increase our disappointment when it sub- 
sides ; in the distant prospect of a strange boat, whose char- 
acter forms a fine subject of speculation, whom we watch 



ARAB AMUSEMENTS. 



85 



through the glass as she draws nearer, and as the case may 
be, either board, or are boarded by her, when the folds of the 
Union Jack of Old England wave in the same breeze, almost 
side by side, with the American stars and stripes. At other 
times we find amusement in the comic actions and dances of 
one of the men, whom we have named the buffoon, and who 
is certainly a fellow of a good deal of wit naturally : if we 
leave out of view the want of delicacy and refinement, and 
do not scruple to be pleased with rather low buffoonery, we 
need not ever be at a loss for amusement, for Abu-'6f is al- 
ways ready to dance, or sing, or play on reeds, or do almost 
anything which may be asked ; and I must confess, that when 
he gathers the whole crew around him, one man thumping 
with his fingers on what answers for a drum, another playing 
on the reeds, the buffoon dancing and grimacing in the midst, 
and the rest clapping their hands and singing a strain in tune 
with the instruments, the scene is not wanting in picturesque- 
ness or beauty.^ Without always understanding the point 
of the jokes which are made, I hope that, in consideration of 
the circumstances, we shall not be severely censured for hav- 
ing sometimes laughed at witticisms and repartees which 
would pass muster nowhere else except on the Nile. But 
when such things pall — as they speedily do — upon the taste, 

* One of the most common musical instruments in use on the Nile is a rude 
kind of drum, termed " darahukkeh." It is larger at one end than the other, and 
is about 1 \ ft. in length : the larger end is covered with a piece of fishes' skin, 
while the smaller is left open. The Arabs generally place it under the left arm, 
and beat it with both hands, so that it gives different sounds, accordingly as it is 
beaten near the edge or in the middle. " The boatmen of the Nile very often 
use an earthen darabukkeh ; but of a larger size than that used in harems ; gener- 
ally from a foot and a half to two feet in length. The boatmen employ, as an 
accompaniment to their drum, a double reed pipe, called ' zummarah.' There is 
also another kind of double reed pipe, called ' arghool ;' of which one of the 
reeds is much longer than the other, and serves as a drone, or continuous bass. 
This, likewise, is used by boatmen ; and sometimes it is employed instead of the 
nay, at zikrs. Both of these reed pipes produce harsh sounds ; and those of 
the latter much resemble the sounds of the bag-pipe."— Lane's " Modern Egyp- 
tians " vol. ii. p. 89. 



86 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



we have abundant resources in store. The banks of the Nile 
are an unfailing source of interest, though unlike those of 
any river which I have ever seen, since they have no water- 
plants, no weeds or shrubbery, or anything of the kind, at 
the water's edge, and for some distance from the shore. The 
height of the banks in many, or most places ; the scattered 
palm groves ; the fields of grain ripening to the harvest ; the 
villages seen at intervals, and as near the water as they can 
be placed, on account of its all-essential importance ; the 
flocks of sheep and goats ; the occasional herds of cattle ; now 
and then camels slowly trudging along ; now donkeys, and, 
for a great rarity, horses ; at this season, too, when the river 
is getting low, the busy workmen at the shaduf, or the creak- 
ing sakieh, giving note of the industry of the inhabitants, — 
all these are features in an ever-varying scene, which rarely 
loses its interest, or fails to impress the beholder. Nor are 
there other things wanting to add to our pleasure and excite- 
ment. Every day — at least since we passed Beni Hassan* — 
we have been on the lookout for crocodiles, and it is quite a 
spirit-stirring cry of the crew, which we now and then hear, 
timseach ! timseach ! You would be astonished at the 
agility which is displayed in seizing our guns, and the fear- 
ful accuracy of our aim at the scaly monsters ; and perhaps 
you would be still more astonished to know that we have shot 
at crocodiles, over and over again, but we have not yet suc- 
ceeded in killing one. In this experience, however, we are 
far from being alone, since it is a rare thing indeed for Nile 
voyagers to be able to boast of anything further than that of 
having wasted a goodly amount of powder and bullets on the 
impenetrable exteriors of crocodiles. Two or three times, for 
want of something better, we have paid considerable atten- 
tion to incipient mutinies, or disturbances, which promised 
to result in this way ; and occasionally we have to interpose 

* This is the most northerly point at which crocodiles are found. On de- 
scending the river, Mr. P. had a shot at one on the shore near the Grottoes. 



VARIETIES OF NILE-LIFE. 



87 



in a quarrel which springs out of too free a use of arrack, 
got in a neighboring town, or a supposed or real case of theft 
of one Arab from another. One evening we got mingled 
up with a rather novel case : a poor fellow in a boat near 
by was struggling, and shouting, and striving to get away 
from two or three others who were holding him, and en- 
deavoring to calm his agitation. On inquiry, we learned 
that he was a passenger on the boat from Cairo to some point 
up the river, and he begged and entreated so much to come 
on board the " Ibis" for the night, that we consented. A 
most pitiful story indeed was that which he told ; declaring 
that he was a merchant, returning home, and that he had 
overheard a project by the boatmen to murder him that night, 
and seize upon the little wealth which he had with him. I 
never saw a person so filled with terror, and whose counte- 
nance and every act indicated more intense and ungoverna- 
ble excitement. On the part of the persons in the other 
boat, it was asserted, and apparently with reason, that the 
poor merchant was crazy, and had frequent attacks of this 
kind; and consequently they wished him to return to his 
proper quarters. As, however, he shuddered so fearfully at 
the proposition, that we could not bear to force him away — 
not being certain, too, but what his story might be true — we 
let him spend the night among the crew. The next day he 
left us quietly, and we saw him no more. 

Much might be added on so prolific a theme as life on the 
Nile. I might tell you of naked monks from the convent of 
" Our Lady Mary the Virgin," near Jebel e' Tair, swimming 
across the river, and with just enough occidental learning to 
proclaim themselves Christians, begging lustily for help : I 
might dwell upon the picture of primitive manners which is 
afforded every day on the banks of this great river, where the 
village maidens come continually with their jars for water, 
and when they have filled them, raise them to their heads, 
and settling them on a small cushion placed there, walk away 



88 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

erect, finely formed, and by no means deficient in beauty : I 
might enlarge upon the magnificent skies of southern Egypt, 
more glorious, or at least more marvellous, than aught ever 
seen in our cold regions ; where the stars sparkle like suns, 
and the surface of old Nile seems to glitter as if filled with 
diamonds, wrapping the beholder almost into extacy, and lift- 
ing the devout soul up in aspirations of praise and gratitude 
to Him who created all these things for His own glory. I 
might indeed tell you a long, long story, and whisper in your 
ear that, after all, one becomes tired of the monotony and 
tediousness of living in a boat for months ; but it needs not ; 
you, I will not doubt, have had enough, and more than 
enough, to satisfy you that life on the Nile must be rather 
stupid, if my attempted description of it is any certain index 
of its true character and attractions ; and I am quite sure 
that you will feel no special regret if I end here without an- 
other word. In my next letter, I hope to interest you in 
something of a very different nature from that which has 
formed the staple of the present letter. 



LETTER V. 



l^ijtlae — <Sj)etu— JElepijatitttte— 3Exmf). 

Vicinity of Philae. — The Island. — Ruins. — Extent and Character. — Egyptian Architecture. — 
Its Effect in General. — Large Chamber.— Used by the Early Christians.— Crosses and In- 
scriptions.— Greek, Italian, French, &c. — The Cataracts. — Swimming Exhibition. — Syene. — 
The Granite Quarries— Island of Elephantine.— Its Ruins.— Present Inhabitants.— Thoughts 
on their Condition. — Esneh. — Its Temple. — Ghawazy. — Disgusting Exhibitions. 

Aswan, Jan. 30th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

We were just thirty-one days in ascending the Nile, 
counting from the time that we left Bulak, the port of Cairo, to 
the day of our arrival at Aswan and the First Cataract ; con- 
sidering the distance, which is not quite six hundred miles, it 
has been a long and rather tedious passage. My impressions of 
the journey, its pleasures and pains, its lights and shades, I 
have already sent you. It now becomes my pleasing duty to 
speak of other things, and to endeavor to give you as good 
an idea as I can of Egyptian antiquities, in so far as I have 
been permitted to examine them in this vicinity. Most of 
the interesting localities on either side of the Nile we have 
been compelled to leave for examination during our voyage 
down the river. The few days that we have spent at Aswan, 
the farthest point south to which we purpose proceeding with 
our boat, have been principally devoted to the island of Philae 
and its extensive remains, the vicinity of the Cataracts, the 
vast quarries of Syenite granite, and the island of Elephan- 
tine, just below the rapids. If you will allow me, I will 



90 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



endeavor to speak intelligibly and accurately of matters, 
which, I trust, will not be deemed unworthy your attention. 

The island of Philae occupied us a whole day. Leaving 
our boat at Aswan, below the Cataracts, we set off early, 
and, riding over a broad plain of sand, and the remnants of 
stones from the quarries, which were once so extensively 
worked, and passing through a vast unenclosed cemetery, in 
which the rich and poor, the high and the low, lay mingled 
together, we came again to the river : a small boat soon 
wafted us over the intervening space, to the shore of Philae. 
As we drew near to it, it was impossible not to be struck 
with the marked contrast of the scenery round about, and of 
that below the rapids. Usually, as you know, the banks of 
the Nile are of uniform height, without stones or rocks, save 
when the mountain range rises abruptly at the water's edge, 
and the eye sees, day after day, the same plain on either 
hand, with the villages, and towns, and groves of palms, and 
the vast deserts in the distance beyond ; but here, massive 
rocks not only encompass the river, and divide it into several 
smaller streams, but spring up in the very midst of the 
channel, and by their huge masses, and the lofty hills all 
around, give an air of wildness and almost sublimity to the 
scene. To one who, like myself, had become rather wearied 
with the monotony of the scenery along the lower portion of 
the Nile, it was refreshing to look once more upon such things 
as these, and to feel that we were once again amid objects 
which forcibly reminded us of portions of our dear native 
land. The island itself is picturesquely and rather beauti- 
fully situate, and not inaptly deserves the name which has 
been given to it; # and one loses all surprise that the Ptole- 

* Philae, known in Arabic by the name of Anas el Wogud, is about seven 
miles south of Aswan, and has deservedly obtained the epithet of ''■ beautiful." 
In Greek it was called <&iXat, and in Egyptian Pilak. or Ailak, and Ma-rV-lak, 
"the place of the frontier." I find that Mr. Lane, in his admirable version of 
the '■' Thousand-and-one Nights," supposes a part of the story of Uns-el-Wujood 
and El- Ward-Fi-L-Akman, to refer to the Nile and the island of Philae. In 



TEMPLE AND RUINS AT PHILAEw 



91 



mies should have chosen this remote and isolated spot for a 
grand temple, when he gazes at it for awhile, and notes its 
admirable position, and its adaptedness to the purposes of 
religious solemnities. 

On landing, we clambered up a rather steep and high bank, 
which brought us to the level of the ruined temples, and cer- 
tainly presented before our eyes a most novel scene ; for the 
whole island is devoted to the vast erections which have here 
been made ; and not a living creature, or a sign of life, can 
anywhere be seen. All the glory of Philae has passed away 
forever, and its hundreds of priests and priestly attendants, 
and its crowds of worshippers, from the kings and nobles 
down to the peasant and the slave, are gone, and the place 
which once was theirs knows them now no more. Ourselves 
were the only persons on the island, and we wandered through 
the ruins, and looked upon the deserted halls and sanctuaries 
of pagan idolatry, alone and unattended, save by one or two 
little boys, who had swum across the channel on a log of 
wood, to salute us with the ever-ready cry of bakhshish ! 
We entered the ruins at the northerly end, and before looking 
at any objects in detail, gave a cursory glance at the whole. 
The principal building is the temple of the moon-crowned 
Isis, the rooms of which we explored as well as we could ; 
we mounted a stone staircase, which led to the top of the 
temple or second story, as I may call it. Here we looked 
into a chamber with a narrow portal, and beheld a number 
of hieroglyphics and sculptured figures, which, according to 
Wilkinson, relate to the death and resurrection of Osiris, that 

the story, the " sea of the Kunooz" is spoken of, and the learned translator, after in- 
forming us that the term bahr is applied to " a large river," as well as " a sea," 
goes on to say : — " The people who inhabit the banks and islands of the Nile 
between Aswan and Wadee-es-Subooa are called the 'Kunooz;' therefore that 
portion of the Nile which flows through their country may be properly called ' Bahr- 
el-Kunooz, and Philae. which is in this part of the Nile, near the northern limits, 
is now called 'the island of Anas (or more properly Uns) el-Wujood.' "—Lane's 
'.' Thousand-an&one Nights," vol. ii. p. 576. 



92 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



deity of whom the Egyptian stood in such awe, as to lower 
his voice and drop his eyes, when he uttered the fearful adju- 
ration, " By him that sleeps in Philae !" This interesting 
chamber is nearly over the western adytum, and is about 
fifteen feet long, by nine wide and eight high. Here, too, we 
had a fine view of the island itself and the surrounding scen- 
ery ; one object in particular attracted our attention : it was 
a large stone or rock on the edge of the water, opposite the 
northerly end of Philae ; it looms up very remarkably, and 
presents a form not unlike a vast altar or shrine ; possibly it 
may have been used for some religious purposes, though that 
is denied by the best authorities. To the west we saw the 
island of Biggeh, a wild and desolate spot, where are some 
few remains of early days, and one or two mud huts built in 
their midst ; and to the south and west we gazed upon the 
extent of the buildings here spread out, the narrow channels 
of the Nile, which flow on either side of this lovely island, and 
the arid and parched up plains and hills of Nubia stretching 
away in the distance. Passing through the portal of the first 
propylon, we emerged into a large open court, with a fine cor- 
ridor on either hand, and where, near the commencement of 
the eastern corridor, as well as I could make out, is the small 
chapel of JEsculapius. The sculptures on the propyla are 
colossal, and though in great measure defaced by the hand 
of violence, still evince the skill of the artist, and the taste 
and habits of the age. In the next passage-way, through 
the second propylon, we read the famous inscription which 
the army of Napoleon caused to be placed here, and which 
has not escaped disfigurement ;* and on emerging into the 
open space beyond, found ourselves in a position of much 
interest : we were standing before the Great Temple, in all 
its imposing grandeur ; while to the south, for a very long- 
distance, was a continued line of columns, more or less broken, 

* Perhaps you may think this inscription worth the trouble we took in copying 
it ; it is as follows, (see next page) : — 



CONDITION OF THE RUINS. 



93 



on both sides of the area, terminating in what Irby and Man- 
gles call " a large pylon formed by two moles :" here a lofty 
obelisk stands, and marks the extreme southerly end of the 
island. Formerly there were two obelisks, one on each side, at 
the close of the long colonnade ; but at present only one remains, 
the other having been removed to England by Mr. Bankes, 
many years ago. In this portion of the ruins, we beheld the 
evidences of the uses to which the temples, after the fall of 
paganism, were devoted ; for half-standing mud huts, and 
great heaps of rubbish from their remains, lie all around, and 
if possible, add to the desolateness of the scene : the same 
thing we found to be true in other parts of Philae, where 
such proofs of degradation of the living, contrasted with the 
grandeur of the ancient system of imposture and deception, 
were far more painful than I am able to express in words. 
While in this portion of the island, I walked to the most 
southerly point, and looked down from the elevation of some 

REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE, AN 6, 
Le 13 Messidor. 
Une armee Francaise commandee par Bonaparte 
Est descendue a Alexandrie. 
L'armee ayant mis, vingt jours apres, 
Les Mamlouks en fuite 
Aux Pyramides, 
Dessaix commandant la premiere division, 
Les a poursuivis au-dela, jusgiu'aux Cataractes, 
Od il est arrive le 13 Ventose, an 7. 



Les Generaux de Brigade 
Davoust, Friand, et Belliard, 
D'Onzelot chef de l'etat major, 
Latour prem. comm. de l'artillerie, 
Eppler chef de la 21me legere. 
Le 13 Ventose, an 7 de la Republiquk, 

3 MARS, AN DE JeS. ClIR. 1799. 

Certain ill-natured persons having scratched their own names on this tablet, 
and in part injured what it contains, some indignant Frenchman has carefully 
erased everything of the sort, and, by way of rebuke, has caused to be written 
up in large, clear letters this line, " Une page d'histoire ne doit pas etre 
salie." 



94 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



twenty-five or thirty feet upon the Nile, which flows rapidly 
by on either side, till it meets again below, to rush impetuously 
down the rapids : at this point, 'too, I gained another fine view 
of the country above ancient Syene, and occasionally had an 
opportunity to notice the difference between the Nubian race 
and the Arab population of the Lower Nile. The former 
are, as you may know, more brave and warlike, and conse- 
quently possessed of greater liberty than the people of the 
North : the fellahin of the villages are usually quiet and 
peaceable, and, having suffered from the hand of despotism 
being laid heavily upon them, are more degraded and less 
spirited than the dark-skinned inhabitants of the South. I 
regret that I cannot give you exactly the entire length of 
these ruins, and some other measurements which would en- 
able you to gain a better idea of their great extent and im- 
posing appearance : I can only say, that the island appeared 
to me to be about two thousand feet in length, by perhaps 
three hundred feet in breadth in its widest portion. Nearly 
the whole is occupied by the temples, and buildings of that 
sort, a fact which may aid you, in part, at least, in under- 
standing what a noble field is here spread out for the exam- 
ination and study of the chronologer and antiquarian.* 

I shall not pretend to enter into a detailed account of all 
that Philae offers to the lover of ancient things ; it would not 
interest you to an extent sufficient to warrant me in under- 
taking so laborious a task, and besides I feel my own incom- 
petency too sensibly to venture upon a matter of this impor- 

* " At three we arrived at Philae, called by Hamilton and Burckhardt, Gie- 
siret el Berbe el Ghassir, or Giesiret Anas el Wodjoud. The first of these names 
means the Island of ruined Temples — not an inapt denomination. Philae is the 
easternmost of a group of islands and rocks which compose the first cataract. It 
is about half a mile long, rather high, and being entirely covered with magnifi- 
cent ruins, has a grand and imposing appearance : the lofty pylons are seen at 
a great distance, and produce a fine effect. The island divides the Nile into two 
streams, and the water, finding so great an impediment in its course, rushes by 
with considerable velocity." — Irby and Mangles' " Travels in Egypt. Nubia" 
&c, p. 34. 



EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. 



95 



tance. You will pardon me, however, I trust, if I speak of 
one or two particulars, in connection with this lovely island, 
of more than ordinary interest. Without dwelling upon the 
hieroglyphics or sculptures which abound on the walls and 
columns of the temples at Philae, I cannot but call your at- 
tention to the character of the architecture, so different from 
that of every other land, and the singular brilliancy and clear- 
ness of the colors which have lasted so many centuries, and 
appear almost as if the work of the past year. In general, 
there is, if I may venture to say it, a heaviness about Egyp- 
tian buildings ; the vast columns and immense stones which 
form the walls ; the want of relief to a broad and high wall, 
such as is found in our western style of architecture ; and the 
singularly grotesque objects by which the artist sought to di- 
vert the attention from dwelling too closely upon the temple 
as a whole, appear to me as serious defects. My experience 
is, of course, slight, and therefore my opinion is of small 
value ; but I cannot yet say that I have felt any of that ex- 
treme gratification of which many speak in visiting the ruins 
of ancient Egyptian temples ; nor have I been able to look 
upon any one scene which conveyed a tithe of the delight 
which I found in various old castles and churches in England 
and on the continent. Apart from the great antiquity of 
Egypt and its temples, and the charm which its historic 
recollections and associations must ever throw around it, I 
do not suppose that the world would be especially struck with 
the heavy masses of stone, the enormpus pillars, the excess 
of ornament, the vast expanse of side- wall, and such like fea- 
tures of the architecture of this wonderful land ; and certainly 
I do not conceive that it would for a moment be compared 
with the chaste elegance of the Grecian, or the imposing 
grandeur of the Gothic style. Even Sir G. Wilkinson con- 
fesses that the architecture of the Ptolemaic period (during 
which Philae was devoted to the purposes of religious wor- 
ship) has little to satisfy the mind or gratify the taste, and 



96 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



in speaking of Dendera, acknowledges that the style of the 
figures is graceless, the hieroglyphics profuse and ill-adjusted, 
the columns, looked at singly, heavy, perhaps barbarous, in 
appearance, and the walls tediously long and unrelieved ; and 
though this language may appear too strong, as applied to 
Philae, I am persuaded that, in substance, one feels that in 
these respects Egyptian architecture, as we now see it in 
ruins, is vastly inferior to that which prevailed in Greece 
and the west of Europe in later days. At the same time, it 
is but just to recollect that we see everything under the great- 
est possible disadvantages, and, as the learned author of 
"Modern Egypt and Thebes" very properly says, "a temple 
did not present the same monotonous appearance (which it 
now does) when the painted sculptures were in their original 
state ; and it was the necessity of relieving the large expanse 
of flat wall that led to this rich mode of decoration." But 
however this may be, no one can look upon the richness of 
coloring which still exists, without astonishment ; so balmy 
is the climate of Egypt, so remarkably free from dampness or 
moisture, and so well suited to the preservation of works of 
art, that to one who comes from a land of cold and storms, it 
seems well nigh impossible that he can be gazing upon deco- 
rations thousands of years old. Over head, he looks upon a 
ceiling representing the clear blue sky, bespangled with stars, 
and so fresh and brilliant are the colors, that it needs no par- 
ticularly vivid fancy to imagine that the scene is veritably be- 
fore him, and that the artist has not long since left the work 
which he has completed. On the walls and columns, over 
the pyla and throughout the temple, he sees the green, and 
red, and yellow, and other colors used in adorning the sculp- 
tures, and in them too he recognizes the same brightness and 
beauty, and hardly knows whether most to admire these, or 
mourn over the desolation which the ruins as a whole present. 

You will readily understand, my dear S., with what inter- 
est I spent a considerable time in one of the large apartments 



TRACES OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 



97 



in the main temple, over the entrance to which is sculptured 
that striking symbol, the winged orb, where I discovered two 
or three crosses of St. John, cut into the wall near the door- 
way, and inscriptions in Greek under them, stating the fact, 
that at one period our brethren in the faith of Christ here as- 
sembled to worship. This room is about forty feet square, 
and is adorned with ten noble columns, measuring fourteen 
feet round, and covered with carvings or sculptures of various 
sorts, many of which have been defaced, or plastered over as 
an easier way of hiding them from view. The capitals of 
the columns are all different in design, and have a singular 
effect, though it can hardly be considered good taste thus to 
seek ornament in an edifice of this sort. Doors are on either 
side, leading into smaller chambers, which once appear to 
have been elaborately adorned ; the light comes from above, 
there being no windows in the room. Near one of the walls 
I saw a splendid block of granite, about five feet in length, 
which was probably used for an altar when the Christians 
occupied this apartment as a church. I took some pains to 
decipher the inscriptions which testify to the fact just stated ; 
they are cut into the solid wall, but not deeply, and are in 
the usual uncial characters. One of these, as a matter of 
curiosity, I subjoin : — 



* The above inscription may be found on the west side of the north entrance 
to the portico. I am sorry that I cannot inform you at what period this inscrip- 
tion was put here, or when bishop Theodore ruled over the church in this vi- 
cinity. 




KAT TOYTO TO ArAGON 
EPrON ErENETO 
EITI TOY OCIQTATOY 
IIATPOC B.MQN EIIISK 
OnOY 0EOA12POY O QL 
AYTON AIA$YAAEH 
Eni MHKISTON XPONON.* 



5 



98 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Various other inscriptions are to be found on the walls of the 
temple, some in Greek, stating how many nobles, warriors, 
statesmen and others, came here to worship Isis, and beg her 
favor and protection ; some in Italian, particularly one over 
the massive doorway to the apartment of which I have spoken 
above, dedicated to the glory of Pope Gregory XVI., and the 
renown of the expedition which he sent out in 1841 ; and 
some in French, in the days of the older Republic, in which 
the names of the principal men are recorded with needless 
particularity, and the victories of the army are specified with 
all the grandiloquence of the Gallic nation. Besides these, 
the walls and columns, high and low, are adorned — I say 
adorned, because many persons must have thought that they 
were adorning them — with names of all sorts, and from all 
climes, perpetuating the memory of Mr. Softly's or Mr. Sim- 
pleton's visit to Philae. How important is it to the future 
traveller to know that Mr. S. has preceded him ! But I leave 
these, one and all, with simply quoting what is really use- 
ful, if it be correct, from one of the inscriptions made by the 
French expedition : " longit. depuis Paris, 30° 16' 22" : lati- 
tude boreale, 24° 3' 45"."— And so, farewell to Philae. 

In returning to our boat, we passed very near the Cataract, 
and were witnesses of a rather curious scene. The rapids, I 
must mention, are no great matter, and hardly equal those 
just above Niagara Falls ; nevertheless, they are not to be 
despised, and except under skilful management, a boat would 
certainly be lost amid the rocks, if it should happen to get 
among them unawares. While looking from a hill near by 
at the Cataract and its waters dashing down impetuously, we 
saw several naked Arabs prepare to swim down the current, 
and exhibit their skill in reaching the smoother water below 
in safety. In they went, one or two with a log between their 
legs, but most of them without anything at all, and at one 
moment their heads would be above the water, and at an- 
other, not a trace of their tawny bodies would be visible. 



THE CATARACTS AND SYENE. 



99 



After a few minutes, dripping with the spray, they climbed 
nimbly up the bank and demanded bakhshish for the sight 
which we had witnessed : happily, it took only a few piastres 
to content them, and they marched off in high glee, and we 
returned to Aswan just at sunset. 

Of the modern town which answers to ancient Syene, I 
need not say anything, as it presents few points of interest 
beyond what all Arab towns and villages have in common. 
I made one expedition through it, without any attendants ; 
but except a little extra impertinence, I met with nothing 
worth recording. Syene was a place of importance in ear- 
lier days, being on the frontier of Egypt to the south ; it is 
spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, who denounced the judg- 
ments of God against the land of the Pharaohs : — 

" Behold, therefore I am against thee and against thy rivers, 
And I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, 
From Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia."* 

In later times, the emperor Hadrian sent Juvenal into ban- 
ishment to this spot,f with the half-mock title of " Governor 
of the Frontier of Egypt," and it was here in exile that the 
great satirist died, four years subsequently, at the advanced 
age of more than fourscore years. At present, the most in- 
teresting thing in connection with this vicinity is undoubt- 
edly the quarries of granite, so well known under the name 
of Syenite, or red granite. I spent part of a very hot day in 
examining these quarries, and can assure you that nothing 
which I have seen in Egypt impressed me more strongly 
with the skill and ability of the ancient inhabitants than what 
I here witnessed. What instruments they must have pos- 
sessed to separate from the solid mass such immense blocks 
of stone as we see in every part of Egypt ; and what ma- 
chines they must have used to transport the obelisks, and 

* Ezek. xxix. 10; xxx. 6; marg. reading. 

f Some authorities mention other localities in Egypt as the place of his exile. 



100 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



statues, and sarcophagi to their destination, often hundreds 
of miles distant ! I can hardly believe what is generally 
stated by writers on antiquities, that this wonderful people 
had no tools of iron, but that all their work was done with so 
inferior a metal as copper or brass : if the fact be really so, it 
heightens the idea of their skill and capacity, and almost puts 
to shame the, greatest efforts of art in modern times. It was 
a curious thing to see an obelisk nearly completed and wrought 
with care, lying as it were just ready to be removed ; and it 
did not require much stretch of imagination to suppose that 
the workmen had only recently left it, and that instead of 
thousands of years which have passed away never to return, 
only a few days had elapsed since the skilful artisans of some 
old Pharaoh were singing merrily over their work. Leaving 
this singular remnant of antiquity, my guide next carried 
me up a steep ascent to another very remarkable locality, 
where I had an opportunity to observe the manner in which 
the ancient Egyptians used to cut off the blocks of stone. 
Several incisions about six inches deep and wide were made 
in the rock, at intervals of about ten inches ; into these they 
appear to have driven wooden wedges, which being saturated 
with water by means of a small trench cut to contain it, 
expanded, of course, and broke off the block by their equal 
pressure. In some cases, probably, a violent blow or concus- 
sion was employed for the same purpose. I cannot better 
conclude this brief notice of these interesting and extensive 
quarries, which contain many other very curious remains, 
than by quoting the language of Wilkinson, in respect to the 
component parts of syenite granite : "The nature of the 
rocks about Syene," he says, " is not, as might be expected, 
exclusively syenite, but on the contrary, consists mostly of 
granite, with some syenite and a little porphyry. The differ- 
ence between the two former is this — that syenite is com- 
posed of felspar, quartz, and hornblende, instead of mica, or 
solely of felspar and quartz ; and granite of felspar, quartz 



ELEPHANTINE AND ITS RUINS. 



101 



and mica. According to some, the ingredients of syenite are 
quartz, felspar, mica and hornblende ; but the syenite of an- 
tiquity, used for statues, was really granite. Indeed, many 
of the rocks of Syene contain all the four component parts ; 
and from their differing considerably in their proportions, afford 
a variety of specimens for the collection of a mineralogist."* 
Elephantine, the " Isle of Flowers," and, according to He- 
rodotus (lib. iii. 19), the dwelling-place of the Ichthyophagi, 
or fish-eaters, lies opposite Aswan, and in many respects quite 
equals Philae in picturesqueness and beauty. Mr. Denon 
speaks of it and its ruins in very highly laudatory terms, as 
indeed, is his practice with nearly everything he saw in 
Egypt. No doubt the time was, when its temples, with the 
city of the same name, its quays and public edifices, which, 
as we are assured, were on the same grand scale as the sacred 
island of Philae, were exceedingly imposing and beautiful ; 
but now it would be hard to find a more desolate-looking 
place than the major part of the island ; and the few ruins 
that are still preserved, hardly repay one for the trouble of 
visiting them, and for the sadness which accompanies him in 
such a locality, and amid the ruins of such greatness. Our 
guide was perfect in his way, and he dragged me from one 
site to another, — now to seek for the scant traces of an an- 
cient Nilometer, now to look at the remnants of an ancient 
quay, now to see a mutilated statue of Osiris, now to inspect 
a ruined granite gateway, and now, amid the heaps and rub- 
bish of mud huts, and across the hills and fields, to behold a 
small sarcophagus cut in the solid granite rock, but empty 
and unused, and without mark to distinguish its age or 
owner ; but I found very little to interest me in these ruins. 
Much more attractive seemed the green fields of grain, the 
stately palms, and the evidences of life, and of God's good- 
ness and mercy ; " for He maketh His sun to rise on the 
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 

* " Hand Book for Egypt," p. 417. 



102 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



unjust and I will confess to you, what may ruin me in 
the eyes of the wholesale admirers of antiquity, because it is 
antiquity, that I took more pleasure in going through the 
small village near the river, inhabited by Nubians, and 
catching a glimpse of their mode of life, than in all the re- 
mains of early grandeur which Elephantine presents, to the 
admiring gaze of the traveller. These poor people, dwelling 
in their mud huts, which would hardly be thought fit resi- 
dences for the swine in our country, appeared to me far from 
unhappy. Their wants are few and easily supplied, their 
climate, at this season, is delicious, their beautiful palms and 
other trees afford them shade from the scorching sun, and 
their huts, mean and contemptible as they are, according to 
our western notions, serve to accommodate them and their 
numerous offspring, in a style quite equal to their desires. 
With our feelings and habits, and accustomed to the luxuries 
which fall to the lot of nearly all in our highly favored land, 
they would, of course, be miserable in so degraded a condition, 
and obliged to live amid filth and penury. But I am by no 
means sure, that, looking at their position and enjoyments 
by the standard of what they are fitted for, they are so much 
to be pitied as at first sight might appear. Think you that 
they would not be more unhappy and wretched than they 
now may be thought, if they were suddenly transported to a 
western dwelling, obliged to wear our clothing, and attend to 
the thousand customs of refined society and elegant habits ? 
But what is to be mourned over is their deep degradation in 
an intellectual and religious point of view. Nine out of ten 
know literally nothing more than the animals which they em- 
ploy in cultivating the ground ; and not one in a thousand 
ever attains to even the simplest rudiments of education: 
and then, when looked at as responsible creatures, as having 
souls, and as beings who will have to give account for the 
deeds done in the flesh, whether they be good or whether they 



* Matt. v. 45. 



TEMPLE AT ESNEH. 



103 



be evil, what a sad picture do they present ! Hardly any of 
them know aught, even of the false religion of the impostor, 
whose name serves to characterize them and thousands of 
others : seldom do the men pretend to pray, and the women, 
as, indeed, is the case everywhere, under the detestable sys- 
tem which degrades them to the lowest possible level, never 
pray ; and as they are never expected to have, so they never 
in reality have, any religion of any sort.* O, is not this a 
matter to move the heart and bedew the eyes with tears ! is 
there not reason for every Christian man, and woman, and 
child, to cry earnestly to God, to send help and lighten the 
darkness of myriads like these ! 

On this topic, however, I may not here enlarge ; perhaps 
at another time I may resume the subject, and give you, 
more in detail, the impressions made upon my mind by actual 
contact with the Mohammedan religion, as exhibited in the 
lives and conduct of the Egyptians. At present, the objects 
of interest along the Nile claim our attention, and I purpose 
to address you from several of the most important points, as 
we descend the river, which, though contrary to what may 
appear the natural and proper order, is rendered necessary by 
the fact, that in ascending the Nile, we have left nearly 
everything to be examined at subsequent times, on our jour- 
ney downward. I may mention, however, in this place, that 
as we came up we stopped for part of a day at Esneh, which 
is about a hundred miles north of Aswan, and took a look at 
the ruins of a vast temple, of which only the portico remains 
free from the mounds of rubbish and the huts of the villagers. 
The portico is of late date, containing simply the names of 
some of the Caesars, as Tiberius, Vespasian, Trajan, &c. I 

* The statement is literally true in respect to the fellahin of Egypt. Occasion- 
ally, it is true that among the higher classes in the cities, some Pharisaic old lady 
will now and then make a great display in going through the required prayers ; but 
the mass, even of the best instructed, neither know nor care anything about the 
matter, and it is a sad truth, as Mr. Lane expressly asserts, that 11 very few wo- 
men in Egypt even pray at home." — See " Modern Egyptians,'* vol. i. p. 114. 



104 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



do not intend here, to detain you with any description of this 
remnant of early days ; it is sufficient to quote the words of 
Wilkinson, who says: " The imposing style of its architec- 
ture cannot fail to call forth the admiration of the most indif- 
ferent spectator ; and many of the columns are remarkable 
for elegance and massive grandeur. It was cleared out to 
the floor by order of Mohammed Ali, during his visit to 
Esneh in 1842." Another matter, however, I do not think 
it right to pass over, since I fear that there are such erroneous 
notions on the subject of right and wrong becoming current 
among travellers, that it is made a duty to protest against 
everything of the sort ; more especially as our holy religion is 
held responsible for the faults and follies of those who bear 
its name. The circumstances are these : — 

Esneh has become the place of exile of the dancing girls, 
or Ghawazy, who formerly were permitted to exhibit their 
indecencies in Cairo, and have been spoken of by several 
travellers, in years that are gone by, as one of the many 
strange sights to be seen in Egypt. At Esneh these prosti- 
tutes carry on a regular business, and hire themselves for the 
day or evening to any whose tastes are prurient enough to wish 
to behold their obscene exhibitions. It ought certainly to be a 
matter of deep regret, that there are any to be found at this 
day, who deem themselves justified in attending a dance of 
this character ; for my part, I have never been able to under- 
stand why filthy songs, licentious dances, and the most dis- 
gusting immodesty should be encouraged by gentlemen, and 
those wearing the Christian name, because these things take 
place in Egypt, rather than at home ; nor further, am I able 
to comprehend, why what is wrong in itself should not be 
discountenanced wherever it exists ; or why a man's morals 
and principles should not be held as sacred and as binding in 
the East as in the West. If I could so far have forgotten 
what was due to the virtuous female, as to have gone to see 
these Ghawazy, I should not have dared to pollute these 



THE GHAWAZY AT ESNEH. 



105 



pages with any accounts of scenes, which are only equalled 
by some of the outrages upon morality in certain portions of 
Paris. That it may not be supposed that my language is 
stronger than the occasion warrants, I beg to use the words 
of Mr. Lane, than whom it would be impossible to find a 
higher authority : " The Ghawazee often perform in the court 
of a house, or in the street before the door, on certain occa- 
sions of festivity in the hareem ; as, for instance, on the. occa- 
sion of a marriage, or the birth of a child. They are never 
admitted into a respectable hareem ; but are not unfrequently 
hired to entertain a party of men in the house of some rake. In 
this case, as might be expected, their performances are yet 
more lascivious than those which I have already mentioned. 
Some of them, when they exhibit before a private party of 
men, wear nothing but the shintiyan (or trousers), and a tob 
(or a very full shirt or gown) of semi-transparent colored 
gauze, open nearly half-way down the front. To extinguish 
the least spark of modesty, which they may yet sometimes 
affect to retain, they are plentifully supplied with brandy, or 
some other intoxicating liquor. The scenes which ensue 
cannot be described. I need scarcely add, that these women 
are the most abandoned of the courtesans of Egypt."^ Sir 
G. Wilkinson uses language equally strong, and characterized 
by indignation and warmth. But I need not dwell upon so 
ungrateful a topic ; and, had I not felt compelled, as a Chris- 
tian and a minister of the Gospel of truth and purity, to 
utter words of warning and remonstrance, not a sentence 
should have escaped me in regard to the matter. Having, as 
I trust, discharged my duty, let me dismiss the subject en- 
tirely ; and in my next, let me introduce you to ancient 
Thebes, and its world-renowned ruins. 



* " Modern Egyptians" vol. ii. p. 107. 

5# 



LETTER VI. 



Vast Variety and Extent of Ancient Thebes.— Details not Attempted.— Some Days spent in 
Looking over the Ground.— Difficulty of Selecting Objects for Description.— Several Villa- 
ges now occupy Site of Ancient Thebes. — History of its Downfall. — Outline Sketch of its 
Wonderful Ruins.— West Bank of the Nile.— Necropolis of Thebes. — Position of the Cata- 
combs. — Belzoni's Tomb. — Interior. — Splendid Decorations and Sculptures. — Bruce's or the 
Harper's Tomb. — Deeply Interesting. — Other Tombs.— Temple atMedinet Habii — Style and 
Character.— Sunrise Visit to the Vocal Memnon— Position of the Colossi.— How was the 
Sound Produced ? — Present Condition of the Colossi. 

Luxor, Feb. 6th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It is somewhat contrary to the natural order of things, 
to address you from ancient Thebes, after sending you a let- 
ter from a point so much farther south as Aswan and the 
Cataracts are, where my last epistle was dated ; but I could 
not well do otherwise. When we went up the Nile, about 
two weeks ago, we stopped only an hour or so at Luxor, and 
paid no attention to the grand ruins at Karnak, and those on 
the west bank of the river ; but having a good wind in our 
favor, we endeavored to make the best of it, and. pressed for- 
ward without delay, purposing on our way down, to spend a 
week or ten days in this deeply interesting locality. We 
have, accordingly, done so, and it now becomes my pleasing 
duty, to try to record, for your gratification, some of the in- 
cidents of the past week, and my privilege to give utterance 
to some of the many and deep reflections which such scenes 
as are here exhibited must ever excite in the thoughtful mind. 
I shall, first of all, disclaim everything like an attempt to 



VASTNESS OF ANCIENT THEBES. 



107 



describe, in detail, the remains of ancient Thebes ; mainly 
because a week's stay amid the ruins of the far-famed hun- 
dred-gated city of Homeric days, is utterly insufficient to fit 
one to speak, with even tolerable accuracy, of what is here 
spread out to view ; and also, because there is so much to 
occupy one, such a vast variety to describe, such an ex- 
tent of ground to be gone over, that it would be preposterous 
for me, within the narrow limits to which T have restricted 
myself, to venture for a moment to enter into particulars re- 
specting the ancient capital of Egypt. Not only am I wholly 
incompetent to deal in the manner which they deserve, with 
those topics which have occupied the greatest genius of mod- 
ern times, and the most valued years of such men as Cham- 
pollion, Rosselini, Wilkinson, Bunsen, and many others ; 
but, from the necessity of the case, I am so hurried, that I 
can give but a week to the examination of ruins, amid which 
Sir Gardner Wilkinson lived for years, and which would 
richly repay the lover of ancient lore, who should here pitch 
his tent, and determine to abide till he had faithfully gone 
over the remains of once glorious Thebes. It will be the 
best, therefore, on every account, that I should select a few 
things out . of the many which here crowd upon the attention, 
and speak somewhat more fully of such matters as I am sure 
will interest you equally with myself. 

The first two or three days we spent in giving a general 
look over the ground, which was to be gone over afterwards 
more in detail. Under any circumstances, this locality would 
be interesting ; for it would be hard to find, anywhere along 
the banks of the Nile, a more lovely plain spread out to the 
view, or a more imposing rampart of hills in the distance, to 
give character and nobleness to the scene. On either side of 
the river, the cultivated land extends back for some two or 
three miles, not only presenting a rich carpet of green on 
which the eye loves to rest, but also serving as a magnificent 
site for so many great and glorious temples as are here ex- 



108 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



hibited to the wonder of all ages. Frequently, when I have 
attained some elevated position, either among the hills, or 
amid the massive ruins of Karnak or Luxor, I have been 
compelled to admire the extent, not less than the beauty, of 
this plain or valley, which is nearly thirty miles in circum- 
ference ; # and I have not known, at times, which most to 
admire, the mighty monuments of the wealth and power of 
the ancient Egyptians, or their taste and judgment in the 
selection of a site which would most fitly display their pro- 
gress in the arts and refinements of civilized life. If mere 
words could suffice, or if the enunciation of distance and 
extent of surface, were sufficient to convey an adequate idea 
of what, I am persuaded, can never be realized save by actual 
experience, then might I hope that, simply stating the facts 
as they are, would be all that is required ; but as I know to 
the contrary, I must beg your indulgence if I seem to use 
language, which wears an air almost of exaggeration, in my 
attempt to convey to you my impressions of what remains 
of ancient Thebes. I dare not speak in the enthusiastic tone 
of the French savans, and yet I would fain believe that my 
feelings have been as deeply touched as theirs. I will not 
venture to give utterance to emotions of a merely general 
character, short as has been our stay in this vicinity, and 
necessarily rapid as has been our survey of the vast extent 
of ruins, at Luxor, Karnak, Medinet Habu, &c. ; for I am 
fully sensible, that the main difficulty in a case of this kind 
is, to select out of the great abundance of matter for thought 
which crowds upon the mind, such as is most becoming and 
most useful to record. Bear with me, then, while I endeavor 
to indicate, in as few words as possible, the exact position of 

* " We returned on foot, by the way of the Memnonium, ascending to the top 
of the Lybian chain, which on one side gave us a fine view of the valley and 
Tombs of the Kings, while on the other side we looked down on the plain, which 
contains the whole of ancient Thebes, together with the Nile, both seen to great 
advantage, and forming a splendid specimen of Egyptian scenery." — Irby and 
Mangles' " Travels in Egypt, Nubia," &c, p. 47. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



109 



things in and about Thebes, such as it took us some days to 
ascertain : and then, with your permission, I will try to speak 
a little more fully, of a very few objects of interest, which 
it would be unpardonable to pass by in silence. 

Though we use the term Thebes in speaking of the great 
city, which once exercised such wide sway in Egypt, you 
will understand that there is no modern town which will an- 
swer to this name, but that there are several villages, known 
as Luxor, Karnak, Medmet Habu, etc., which occupy the 
site of the ancient capital of the Pharaohs. So long ago as 
the time of Cambyses, the Persian conqueror, B.C. 525, 
Thebes received a blow to its prosperity, from which it never 
recovered ; for the son of Cyrus spared no efforts to destroy 
the proud monuments of Egyptian power and glory ; and, 
with a zeal more akin to insane fury, than aught else to 
which it can be likened, he sought to lay in ruins the metrop- 
olis of the country which he had conquered. Subsequently, 
too, one of the Ptolemies, B.C. 116, on occasion of a revolt 
against his authority, marched against Thebes, and wreaked 
his vengeance upon it, in a manner which it is impossible to 
characterize in the terms which it deserves ; and there can 
be little doubt, that very much of the mischief which has 
been done to the temples and monuments in and about Thebes, 
is to be attributed to the deep and insatiable resentment of 
Ptolemy Lathyrus, quite as much as to the hatred manifested 
by the Persians against a system of worship and religion most 
odious in their eyes. Ever since, Thebes has borne but the 
name of what it once was : it has passed from under the 
domination of the Roman, the Saracen, the Turk, and the 
French, and has been for nearly half a century under the iron 
rule of Mohammed Ali, who, whatever else he may have 
done for Egypt, has not manifested any very enlightened 
views, in respect to preserving its antiquities from the rapa- 
city of rival collectors, or the singular proceedings of certain 
distinguished savans. Its importance lost, and its glory taken 



110 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



away by the rise of the new capital, Memphis, which, in its 
turn, has given place to another, where the present Pasha 
rules supreme, this once mighty capital of a great empire 
exists no more ; but the traveller is compelled to wander 
from village to village, and seek in different spots, the remains 
of grandeur, which, even in their ruins, strike him more for- 
cibly than he knows how to express. He approaches this 
deeply interesting region from the north, gliding over the 
bosom of the same mysterious river, which, for ages, has fer- 
tilized and blessed the land of Egypt : he sees before him, on 
either hand, a plain of several miles in breadth, and some six 
or eight miles in length, bounded by a line of hills or moun- 
tains, which seem, as it were, to inclose this lovely valley 
with an impassable wall, and render it as secluded as the 
most devout lover of retirement could desire. In almost 
every direction, he beholds the evidences of the vast wealth 
and power of the ancient Egyptians, in the massive remains 
of temples, the obelisks, the colossal statues, the avenues of 
sphinxes, the towering propyla, and such like. On the west 
bank he rides over the plain, passes the petty villages, or col- 
lections of mud huts, and in an hour's time, finds himself at 
the top of the mountain range, where he is even more aston- 
ished than ever at the wonderful necropolis of ancient Thebes, 
and spends several days most profitably, in wandering amid, 
and penetrating into, the tombs of the mighty dead. Here, 
too, he finds the remains of the Memnonium or Remeseum, 
the temple-palace of Kurneh, the great temple at Medinet 
Habu, the vocal Memnon and its fellow-statue, both the 
work of Amunoph III., B.C. 1430 ; and as he surveys the 
scene immediately before him, with the Nile flowing on ever 
in its silent majesty, and the vast collection of ruins on the 
opposite bank, he cannot but admire the grandeur of concep- 
tion, the extent of resources, and the deeply religious tone 
which characterizes the edifices of this ancient metropolis. 
Crossing again to the east bank, he sees, almost at the river's 



THE WONDROUS RUINS AT THEBES. 



Ill 



side, the ruins of the temple at Luxor, in such strange and 
offensive connection with mud huts, stables, pigeon-houses, 
squalid children, noisy dogs, and such like things, which so 
effectually destroy all the romance with which imagination 
is apt to invest the relics of by-gone ages ; he gazes at the 
mutilated statues, and the magnificent obelisk whose fellow 
now graces the Place de la Concorde in Paris ; and perhaps 
he thinks, as I did, how much more noble and fitting this 
splendid block of syenite granite appears here, though in the 
midst of ruins, and exposed to the ignorance of the villagers, 
no less than the culpable and disgraceful thoughtlessness of 
some of those who travel, apparently without object, than its 
companion statue does, in the midst of the gay world of 
fashion and pleasure. Leaving Luxor, he mounts his donkey, 
and, riding in a southerly direction about two miles, he arrives 
at Karnak, where, doubtless, are the most ancient remains of 
the glory and greatness of Thebes, and where the successive 
monarchs of old seemed to have lavished all their care, and 
striven each to outdo the other in works which should add to 
the renown of the metropolis, and carry down their names 
to the most remote generations.^ Visiting this last of all, as 
I did, the traveller finds Karnak to surpass all that he could 
have imagined ; and he is for a time bewildered, and lost in 
the most profound astonishment, as he wanders amid ruins 
which cover so vast a space, and indicate a previous condition 
of glory and splendor, far, far beyond all that the world has 
ever since beheld. He spends some days here in endeavoring 
to gain a clear idea of what is before him : and leaving it 

* The illustrious race of monarchs who composed the 18th dynasty " crowded 
the plains of Thebes and Memphis with temples and palaces, the mutilated remains 
of which in the former city still set at defiance the powers of language to describe 
the sensations which the sight of them excites in the mind of the spectator, and 
force, even from the most incredulous, the confession, that no imagination can 
conceive the combination of splendor and magnificence which must have over- 
whelmed the senses of him who, 3000 years ago, was privileged to enter the then 
hallowed precincts of Thebes in its glory."— Osburn's " Antiquities of Egypt' 7 
p. 217. 



112 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



with regret, when his allotted time is expired, he is ashamed 
to acknowledge to himself how little, after all, he has really 
learned, and how incompetent he is to pretend to speak with 
precision of what it contains. Most thoroughly, too, does the 
conviction force itself upon his mind, that, to appreciate 
Thebes, one must take up his residence here, and, being well 
prepared by previous study of Egyptian history and antiqui- 
ties, must give months, where he has had to be content with 
days, and even hours. 

If now I have succeeded at all in conveying to your mind 
any idea of the general position of things in and about Thebes, 
you will readily comprehend how vast a field there is for de- 
scription, for the exercise of learning and ingenuity, and for 
the most salutary reflection, amid such scenes as those to 
which I have so briefly, and, I fear, so imperfectly alluded. 
With a full consciousness of my inability to do justice to the 
theme, and with a knowledge that no sufficient excuse can 
be found for the presumption of writing about Thebes after a 
single week's stay amid its ruins, I shall venture to select 
only a few points to speak of more particularly, in the con- 
fident hope that you at least will pardon me that which is 
done to show my earnest desire to make you partaker of the 
privileges which have fallen to my lot in the present visit to 
the East. I shall first endeavor to tell you of what we saw 
on the west bank, and then devote some pages to Luxor, and 
especially Karnak. 

The " Ibis" was moored on the eastern bank of the Nile, 
not far from Luxor ; but as we are furnished with a small 
boat, it was an easy matter to be rowed across the river to 
any point which we chose ; and I assure you that the scene 
which the early hour of the morning, just after sunrise, pre- 
sents, is very beautiful and impressive, especially when one 
gives play to his imagination, and looks back into antiquity 
as contrasted with the present ruined and wretched condition 
of all that attaches to the once proudly-styled hundred-gated 



WEST BANK OF THE NILE. 



113 



city. On the west side of the river horses are supplied, 
though I cannot say much in their favor as respects speed, 
bottom, or other qualities ; they answer, however, very well 
for present necessity, and carry the traveller over the ground 
quite as fast as he desires. For some distance we rode along 
the shore, and could not but admire the prospect which was 
afforded by the river, stretching away in both directions as 
far as the eye can reach, the opposite bank, with the ruins 
of Luxor near by, the lofty, towering propyla of Karnak in 
the distance, and the range of hills which bound the view on 
the east still farther off; after a while we turned off from the 
river's bank, and following the course of the valley, passed in 
full view of the vocal Memnon, which we did not now stop 
to examine, and in the course of an hour and a half came to 
the foot of the hills, or mountainous range, in which are the 
tombs of the kings. It took us some time to ride through 
the vast collection of gravel, sand, and chalky formations 
which lie strewed around, and it was by no means difficult 
to fancy ourselves in the midst of the chambers of the dead, 
so desolate and wholly removed from everything which has 
life is the necropolis of ancient Thebes. May it not, too, in the 
opinion of the early Egyptian teachers of religion, have had 
a good effect upon the living, thus to see continually before 
them, as the inhabitants of this great metropolis must have 
done, the vast dwelling-place of the dead, and to know that 
soon they likewise must occupy the space allotted to them in 
the tomb ? From all that we know of the better features of 
their religious system — unhappily that is very little — it ap- 
pears evident that they turned their attention quite as much 
to the subject of death and the preservation of the perishing 
body, as to care for the living and the every-day concerns of 
this fleeting existence. 

We made it a point to enter Belzoni's tomb first of all, 
both on account of our respect for the distinguished man who 
discovered it, and because it is in itself very remarkable for 



114 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



its interior decoration and arrangement. Unlike most of the 
others, this one is entered by a steep staircase, which, accord- 
ing to Wilkinson, descends twenty-four feet in perpendicular 
depth on a horizontal length of twenty-nine, and certainly 
seems to mar the effect which is gained by the gradual slope 
usually chosen in constructing the tombs. A short distance 
further on, a second staircase is found, by which we de- 
scended some twenty-five feet lower, and walking along a 
passage of about thirty feet in length, we came to an oblong 
chamber, twelve feet by fourteen, where formerly was a deep 
pit, which Belzoni filled up, and which appeared to form the 
limit of the tomb ; his sagacity, however, and the skill he 
had acquired in detecting the hidden chambers which were 
formed with so much care by the ancient Egyptian kings to 
conceal their mortal remains and protect them from the hand 
of violence, enabled him, after great labor, to effect an en- 
trance into the secret portions of this truly magnificently 
adorned burial-place. "We did not wonder that Belzoni was 
delighted at his success, for rarely has it fallen to our lot to 
witness a scene at all comparable with what is here exhibited 
to the admiring gaze of the visitor. Hall after hall, and 
chamber after chamber, not more remarkable for size and ex- 
tent than for beauty of sculpture and elegance of decoration, 
lay open to our inspection ; and as we walked along, with 
steps slow and minds attuned to serious and solemn things, 
and beheld the multitude of objects which the artist has here 
drawn with a skill very surprising, when we consider the 
lapse of time since they were executed, our only light the 
flickering rays of a candle, and ourselves the only living 
things in the very charnel-house of a Pharaoh, you will be- 
lieve me that I felt oppressed, and in some measure, pained 
with inexpressible emotions. I do not mean by this that death 
here wears the gloomy and terrifying aspect which is too gen- 
erally associated with it ; nor that the ancient Egyptian bury- 
ing-places affect one with that chilling and shuddering sensa- 



NECROPOLIS OF THEBES. 



115 



tion which steals insensibly upon such as go down into the 
tombs and vaults in Christian countries, and see and feel that 
they are indeed in the midst of festering corruption and mor- 
tal dust and ashes : on the contrary, I have been struck with 
the fact, that the very reverse is true of the tombs of Egypt. 
Everywhere they have sought to deprive death of its horrors, 
and, if I may be allowed to say so, have succeeded admirably 
well. It was not, therefore, as perhaps it may appear, the 
simple consciousness that we were in the chambers of the 
dead, the house appointed for all living, which affected me 
with sensations of mingled pain and grief: nay, while this 
consciousness had its full effect, it was something more which 
touched my feelings ; it was rather the thought of the vanity 
and nothingness of all earthly things which forced itself upon 
my attention ; it was the calling to mind that the great king 
who more than three thousand years ago ruled supreme in 
Egypt, and gloried in his power and magnificence, has sunk 
into oblivion, and his name and works, and all that apper- 
tained to him, have for ages been forgotten, like the things 
that perish and are no more. Standing here, in the mauso- 
leum of the mighty and illustrious dead, who doubtless never 
dreamed that they should pass away utterly from the knowl- 
edge or recollection of men, I could not but feel how worth- 
less is human glory, how less than nothing is this world's 
might, magnificence, splendor and beauty; and I could not 
but grieve over the vain and fleeting show for which mortals 
have spent their best efforts, and which, when attained, is 
like a vapor which appeareth for a little time, and then van- 
isheth away forever. But, if such were the feelings most 
natural to the heart on an occasion like the present, O how 
grand and truly glorious appeared the hopes and expectations 
of the Christian, when set in contrast with what these an- 
cient Egyptians possessed ! how unspeakably precious seemed 
the lot of those who know and believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and by whom this world and all its vain pomp and 



116 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



circumstance are counted as nothing, and less than nothing, 
compared with the eternal and unfading glory which awaits 
the ransomed of the Lord ! Truly, my dear S., if the heart 
of man sink within him, when he is compelled to realize the 
power of death and the perishable nature of earthly greatness, 
there is consolation in the thought that now no longer need 
he mourn and weep, for the Redeemer has purchased joy and 
peace for His children ; no longer need he spend his efforts 
for naught, in the vain endeavor to escape the doom of mor- 
tality, for the grave has no terrors, death has no sting, for 
those who " are more than conquerors through Him that loved 
us ;" yea, as the glowing Apostle to the Gentiles has said, 
" I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor* 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord."* 

I shall not attempt to describe in detail the respective 
chambers in this splendid Tomb; after what Sir Gardner 
Wilkinson has done in his very valuable and elaborate work, 
" Modern Egypt and Thebes," it would be presumptuous in 
me to venture to do more than speak of such points as con- 
sist with a rapid visit to the wonders of this ancient capital ; 
you will, however, I trust, pardon my quoting a passage from 
Belzoni's narrative, giving an account of the sarcophagus 
which he found in the vaulted saloon, or grand hall, and 
which Wilkinson thinks was a cenotaph of the deceased mon- 
arch : — " The description," says he, " of what we found in 
the centre of the saloon, and which I have reserved till this 
place, merits the most particular attention, not having its 
equal in the world, and being such as we had no idea could 
exist. It is a sarcophagus of the finest oriental alabaster, 
nine feet five inches long, and three feet seven inches wide. 
The thickness is only two inches ; and it is transparent when 

* Rom. viii. 37-39. 



BELZONl's TOMB. 



117 



a light is placed in the inside of it. It is minutely sculptured 
within and without with several hundred figures, which do 
not exceed two inches in height, and represent, as I suppose, 
the whole of the funeral procession and ceremonies relating 
to the deceased. I cannot give an adequate idea of this beau- 
tiful and invaluable piece of antiquity, and can only say that 
nothing has been brought into Europe from Egypt that can 
be compared with it. The cover was not there ; it had been 
taken out and broken into several pieces, which we found in 
digging before the first entrance."* It was not our good for- 
tune to see this elegant specimen of ancient workmanship, it 
having been removed many years ago to London for exhibi- 
tion ; but this was comparatively of little consequence ; for 
there is so much to interest and astonish the visitor, that he 
hardly finds time to regret the absence of any one object, 
however important. In truth, I feel that the amount of 
decoration, in the way of sculpture, painting, hieroglyphics, 
&c, is so vast, and requires both so much more knowledge 
of art, and so much greater space than are at my command, 
that I am quite ashamed to deal so unfairly by you and by 
this wonderful catacomb, as to comprise within a few sen- 
tences all that I dare now undertake to say respecting it. 
Yet so it is, and you will have to be indebted to imagination 
for very much that no words of mine can adequately deline- 
ate. The numerous chambers, filled with hieroglyphics, of 
which Wilkinson speaks in detail ; the freshness of color ; 
the variety of design ; the interest attaching to many of the 
figures and subjects, particularly those which are said to rep- 
resent a procession of four different people or races, red, 
white, black, and white again, four by four, followed by Ra, 
" the sun ;"t the drawings in one of the halls which have never 

* Compare Russell's " Ancient and Modern Egypt" p. 223. 

t This is the view advanced by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, who thinks that the 
four red figures are Egyptians, the white, a nation of the north, the black, a 
southern people, and the other white figures an eastern tribe, all intended to 



118 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



been finished by the sculptor ; the various Egyptian divini- 
ties ; and such like matters, are points on which I must not 
attempt to enlarge, and respecting which the larger volumes 
of Wilkinson and others can alone give satisfaction. At best, 
too, though I made two visits to Belzoni's tomb, and spent 
some hours in examining it, I must confess that I have but 
a confused recollection of the vast variety of hieroglyphical 
decoration, the strange profusion of serpents and reptiles of 
different sorts, the singular and mysterious ceremonies alluded 
to in some of the sculptures, the numerous gods and goddesses, 
the various figures of men and animals, and the many groups 
which are scattered throughout the halls and chambers ; I 
could not, however, help being struck with some peculiarities 
in the representation of human figures, and noting them at 
the time. The shape of the head is excellent, and proves at 
once that the Egyptians were no more connected with the 
negro race than ourselves : the expression of the face, too, is 
pleasing, and in many cases very sweet and attractive ; but the 
figure is very remarkable for extreme tenuity, and a slenderness 
of waist in the female, which is beyond anything attainable by 
the modern devotee of fashion. In other respects, while one 
could not but admire the artistical skill displayed in the design 
and execution of these figures, taking into account the early 
period at which they were drawn and sculptured, there was 
much room for regret that the knowledge of perspective was 
not more extended among a people who manifested talent of 
such high order in the arts in general. If I have an oppor- 
tunity by and by, I may recur to this point again : now, I 
must leave this, as well as some minor matters relating to 

typify the four divisions of the world, or the whole human race. Earlier writers, 
quoted by Dr. Russell, give a different view of these sculptures, supposing that 
the period referred to is the time of Pharaoh Necho, who conquered Jerusalem 
and Babylon (see 2 Kings, xxiii. 29, etc.), and his son Psammis or Psammuthis, 
who made war upon the Ethiopians : hence the people indicated would be the 
Jews, Ethiopians, Persians, and Egyptians. The opinion of Wilkinson is, 
however, entitled to the greater weight, from the fact that no Egyptologer ex- 
cept himself, has devoted the time and attention to Thebes which it deserves. 



bruce's or the harper's tomb. 



119 



the scribbling of names on the walls, and various severe and 
not undeserved objurgations against Dr. Lepsius and his bar- 
barisms in removing some of the sculptures, and ask you to 
accompany me to another tomb, on some accounts not less 
interesting than that of Belzoni.* 

A short walk brought us to Bruce's, or the Harper's tomb, 
so called from the interesting figures of two minstrels, play- 
ing on harps of rather an elegant form, which were copied 
by the distinguished traveller just named, and furnished to 
Dr. Burney for his " History of Music." Unlike the one 
from which we had recently emerged, this tomb descends 
gradually from the entrance, and in its whole length of four 
hundred and five feet, reaches only thirty-one feet below the 
level of its mouth. I may mention here, too, that most of 
the tombs are constructed on this plan, and consist of a 
straight passage, about twelve feet wide and ten high, cut 
into the side of the soft limestone rock, and having on each 
side of the main hall a number of small chambers. The 
principal interest connected with this tomb, is undoubtedly 
on account of its throwing light upon the every-day life of 
the ancient Egyptians ; and though the nature of the rock 
was not very favorable for sculpture, and a large part of the 
tomb is too much defaced to enable one readily to recognize 
the design of the artist, still sufficient remains to render 
Bruce's tomb one of the most attractive of them all. In one 

* Lord Lindsay cannot contain his indignation at what has been done in 
this tomb : — " The spoilers have been at work in Belzoni's tomb : it makes the 
heart ache and the cheek burn to see such wanton outrage ; one whole pillar (to 
say nothing of partial robberies, figures cut in two for the sake of a limb or an or- 
nament) has been stript of its sculptures, and stands a melancholy wreck, naked 
and dazzlingly white, amidst its companions, the chips all around it — tongues 
of reproach, that curse the hand that maimed it !" — According to Wilkinson, the 
" total horizontal length of this catacomb is 320 ft., without the inclined descent 
below the sarcophagus, and its perpendicular depth 90. But including that part, 
it measures in depth about 180 ft., to the spot where it is closed by the fallen 
rock." The hieroglyphics show that the tomb was king Osirei's, (B.C. 1385) the 
father of Remeses II., who is supposed to be the great Sesostris of Egyptian history. 



120 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of the chambers are represented the various processes con- 
nected with culinary operations, as the slaughtering of oxen, 
the putting the cauldrons over the fire, the kneading of some 
substance with the feet, the making of bread, where the dough 
is kneaded by hand, &c. In another chamber is a great vari- 
ety of warlike instruments, helmets, spears, daggers, clubs, 
standards, &c. In another are to be seen specimens of house- 
hold furniture, as chairs, sofas, couches, and numerous orna- 
mental articles for the drawing-room or parlor, of which Wil- 
kinson truly remarks, that they prove that the ancient Egyp- 
tians " were greatly advanced in the arts of civilization, and 
the comforts of domestic life." But I need not dwell upon 
those points, which have been so admirably enlarged upon by 
the illustrious author, to whom all travellers in Egypt are so 
much indebted. One other chamber, only, demands a passing 
notice, viz., that from which the tomb generally derives its 
name. We spent some little time in looking at the harpers 
and their instruments, which have an additional interest from 
the circumstance of the name of Bruce being written just 
over one of them. The minstrels are blind, and the harps 
have eleven and thirteen strings ; they are performing in the 
presence of the god Ao or Hercules, and might easily be 
taken for persons of the same rank in life, and the same oc- 
cupation as the wandering musicians of modern days. 

The other tombs of the kings, which we examined with 
some particularity, are those which Wilkinson has numbered 
9, 14 and 15 : we also took considerable pains to explore one 
of the extremely spacious tombs in the Assaseef, executed by 
a wealthy priest, who lived about B.C. 640. I am confident 
that I should weary you, were I to enter upon a detailed de- 
scription of these catacombs, which have so many character- 
istics in common with those already spoken of. If I have 
been so happy as to render my meaning at all clear, there is 
the less necessity of this, since you will understand that the 
variety in the style, subject, and execution, is not great, and 



THE PRIVATE TOMBS. 



121 



that after all, it requires a very extensive preparation, to en- 
joy and profit by the most of things, in which these mansions 
of the dead abound. The Tomb of Memnon (No. 9), as it 
was styled by the Romans, is certainly well worthy a visit, 
and appears to have been greatly admired by the Greek and 
Romaj^ visitors, who have recorded on the walls their senti- 
ments, in inscriptions of some length. Nos. 14 and 15 have 
several points of interest, illustrative of Egyptian life and 
manners. The tomb belonging to the priest Petamunap, is 
very remarkable for its extent, and the profusion of its deco- 
ration ; and it has been calculated, that the area of the exca- 
vation is twenty -two thousand two hundred and seventeen 
square feet, and with the chambers of the pits, twenty-three 
thousand eight hundred and nine ; and that it occupies nearly 
an acre and a quarter of ground. At present, the bats have 
taken up their residence in such numbers, in this tomb, that 
it is extremely disagreeable to penetrate into its recesses.* In 
every direction, too, the scandalous manner in which the tombs 
and mummy-pits have been rifled, and the fragments of human 
remains scattered about, excite one's indignation at the heart- 
lessness of travellers and antiquarian collectors, and the cu- 
pidity of the uncivilized Arabs. 

Among the private tombs, by far the most curious and 
interesting is the one which Wilkinson has marked 35, for 

* " We cannot leave these ancient tombs without expressing our regret that 
the rage for discovery in the mansions of the dead should have led to conse- 
quences so little creditable to European delicacy. The mummies have been 
drawn from their recesses with a rapacious and unsparing hand. The chief 
part of this havoc, no doubt, has been committed by the Arabs, who tear the 
bodies open to get at the rosin, or asphaltum, used in the embalming, which they 
sell at Cairo to great advantage ; but travellers and their agents have also had 
their share in this sacrilege, as it may be justly called. It is, we are informed, 
a sad and disgusting sight; the sands and the edges of the graves, in some parts, 
being strewed with bones and even pieces of flesh thrown wantonly about. The 
poor Egyptians, who had slept in peace some thousands of years, have been mer- 
cilessly dealt with here, and the remains of warriors, citizens, and sages, now lie 
mingled together beneath the burning sun ; for no retreat or sanctuary has been 
suffered to remain inviolate." — Russell's " Ancient and Modern Egypt," p. 230. 



122 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



" it throws more light upon the manners and customs of the 
Egyptians, than any hitherto discovered." We did not fail, 
as a matter of course, to visit this tomb ; and while we were 
gazing most intently at the picture of the brick-makers, which 
Rosselini has rendered renowned by copying it, and express- 
ing a decided opinion respecting its application, we fglt all 
the excitement arising out of the view, which, not Rosselini 
alone, but others equally learned and judicious, have adopted. 
Certainly there could not be a more striking and apt illustra- 
tion of the words of Moses, than is afforded by this remark- 
able painting ; " the Egyptians made the children of Israel 
to serve with rigor ; and they made their lives bitter with 
hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of 
service in the field : all their service wherein they made them 
serve was with rigor." (Exod. i. 13, 14.) Whether we con- 
cur in opinion with such distinguished scholars as Hengsten- 
berg, Osburn, Rosselini, and others, who are very decided on 
the point of this pictorial representation being intended ex- 
pressly to set forth the Jews working as slaves ; or whether 
we defer to the judgment of Sir G. Wilkinson, Taylor, and 
men of that stamp, there can be no doubt, that it is a very 
surprising and very wonderful illustration of an important 
part of Scripture history. For myself, as you know, it be- 
comes me to speak with the utmost diffidence on controverted 
points ; yet I cannot forbear expressing to you my thorough 
conviction, that this is a veritable and trustworthy evidence 
from the monuments of Egypt, in favor of the truth of the 
Bible. I have looked at this picture with this feeling ; I de- 
sire to cherish such feelings ever in my bosom, not "in defi- 
ance of logic," as Wilkinson would have it of those who take 
this view, but because the arguments are too many and con- 
vincing for me to doubt on the point. Let me quote, in sup- 
port of the opinion which I would advocate, the words of the 
learned William Osburn, Jr. : after informing us that the pre- 
sent is the tomb of Rek-share, the chief architect of the temples 



PICTURE OF THE BRICK-MAKERS. 



123 



and palaces of Thebes, under Pharaoh Moeris, he says : " never, 
perhaps, has so striking a pictorial comment as this upon the 
sacred text, been before recovered. The physiognomy of the 
Jews it is impossible to mistake; and the splashes of clay 
with which their bodies are covered, the air of close and in- 
tense labor that is conveyed by the grouping on the left side 
of the picture, and, above all, the Egyptian taskmaster 
seated with his heavy baton, whose remorseless blows would, 
doubtless, visit the least relaxation of the slaves he was driv- 
ing from their wearisome and toilsome task of making bricks, 
and spreading them to dry in the burning sun of Egypt, give 
a vivid impression of the exactitude of the Scripture phrase, 
' all their service wherein they made them serve was with 
rigor.' The inscription at the top of the picture, to the 
right, reads, ' Captives brought by his majesty' (Moeris), ' to 
build the temple of the great god.' This means, either that 
Moeris was the king ' that arose that knew not Joseph, and 
that reduced the children of Israel to servitude ;' or, more 
probably, that the family or gang of Israelites which are here 
represented, had been marched up from Goshen, and attached 
especially to the building of the temples at Thebes."* I shall 
not, however, enticing though the theme be, dwell longer 
upon this interesting picture, or the many others which this 
tomb contains. You will find all that is known, and the 
opinions of the wise and learned in Egyptian history and an- 
tiquities, in the volumes of the authors above named ; and I 
will not doubt that you will agree with me in the sentiments 
I have ventured to express.! At this time, let me beg your 

* Osburn's " Antiquities of Egypt" pp. 220, 221. 

f Since my return to the United States there has been published, " The Mon- 
uments of Egypt, or Egypt a Witness for the Bible," by Francis L. Hawks, D.D., 
LL.D., 8vo. pp. 418. The learned author, in speaking of the bondage of the 
children of Israel in Egypt, discusses this subject quite at large, and with his 
usual ability. I am happy to refer you to pp. 179-188, where you will observe 
Dr. Hawks advocates the view adopted by Hengstenberg and Osburn. 



124 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



patience for a little while, to a brief notice of one or two 
other matters on the western bank of the Nile. 

Passing by the Memnonium or Remesseum, the small 
temple to the east, called Deir el Medineh, from having been 
the abode of the early Christians, and the temple-palace (as 
it is termed) of Kurneh, which are not, by any means, unwor- 
thy notice, but hardly require attention here, in the midst of 
so many other more imposing ruins in Thebes, I feel that it 
would hardly be right to omit all mention of the great temple 
at Medmet Habu, and the Colossus, with which we are fami- 
liar under the name of the " Vocal Memnon." The ruins 
of the temple are easily visited in the course of a day, and 
strike the attention the more forcibly, from their extent, 
character, and historical associations. Like all the ruins of 
Egypt, these are in the midst of surrounding objects, which 
offend the eye and the taste, and afford clear evidence of the 
degradation of the present race of inhabitants. Heaps of 
dirt and rubbish, the half thrown down mud huts of the vil- 
lagers, who usually took up their residence in the midst of 
the old temples and ruins, and the here-and-there scattered 
proofs of a miserable existence in the squalid children, shout- 
ing for bakhshish, and the few goats which constitute all the 
wealth of their parents, give an air of desolation to the scene, 
which I am unable to describe, and which can hardly fail to 
impress the beholder with sad reflections. This temple-palace 
dates back, according to Wilkinson, to the time of Remeses 
III., B.C. 1235. We first passed what are called lodges, and 
arrived at a lofty building, resembling a pyramidal tower on 
either hand : these, together with the oblong court and gate- 
way at the end, and the chambers on the inner or north side, 
gave us a good idea of the pavilion of the king, who made 
his royal residence in a locality such as this. Of the sculp- 
tures and decorations of this portion, time does not permit 
me to speak, much as they would strike the antiquary, and 
the admirer of Egyptian works of art : it may interest you 



GRAND COURT AT MEDINET HABU. 



125 



more to notice the singular symmetrophobia, as it is termed, 
which characterizes many of the pillars or columns in these 
temples. Here, in one of the large courts, as at Philae, it 
seemed not a little curious, that no two columns are alike, 
and that the artist has bestowed more care and labor to make 
each one different from the other, than to give them all that 
elegant symmetry and finish, which, to our notions, render 
the Grecian styles so attractive. "The next area," says 
Wilkinson, " is far more splendid, and may be looked upon 
as one of the finest which adorn the various temples of Egypt. 
Its dimensions are about one hundred and twenty-three feet 
by one hundred and thirty -three, and its height from the 
pavement to the cornice thirty-nine feet four inches. It is 
surrounded by an interior peristyle, whose east and west sides 
are supported by five massive columns, the south by. a row 
of eight Osiride pillars, and the north by a similar number, 
behind which is an elegant corridor of circular columns, „ 
whose effect is unequalled by any other in Thebes. Nor do 
the colors, many of which are still preserved, tend a little to 
add to the beauty of its columns, of whose massive style 
some idea may be formed, from their circumference of nearly 
twenty-three feet to a height of twenty-four, or about three 
diameters." It is this grand court which the artist has 
presented to our view in the adjoining sketch. There is 
something rather grand and very interesting in the sculptures, 
of a historical character, on the walls of this vast court, com- 
mencing at the inner face of the tower : they are much too 
elaborate and extensive, for me at present to undertake to 
describe them; and as the author of "Modern Egypt and 
Thebes" has devoted a number of pages to an accurate de- 
scription of the battle scenes here sculptured, I must beg 
to refer you to them, as on every account worthy a re-perusal. 
What struck me the most was the spirit and skill of the 
artist, who has succeeded in depicting scenes of this kind in 
a manner worthy of the later and better days of art ; and, 



126 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



despite all the defects of perspective drawing, and the want 
of proportion in many ways and in many portions of the 
figures, even the most casual observer must render the 
tribute of praise to the general effectiveness of the whole, 
and the singular accuracy and minuteness of most of the 
details. He cannot well fail, also, being impressed with 
the temple, as a whole, and as illustrating the main fea- 
tures of Egyptian architecture, in a manner most likely to 
make a deep and lasting impression. It is quite possible, 
nay, perhaps probable, that he will feel disposed to condemn 
these vast edifices, in which the land of the Pharaohs abounds, 
as heavy and in measure unmeaning, as deficient in the 
gracefulness and beauty of the Grecian style, and as eviden- 
cing a false taste ; but he will find them grow upon him, and 
he will see reason to acknowledge, that in their palmy days, 
when all the richness of color, and elegance and profusion of 
decoration,'were brought to bear ; and when there was every- 
thing in keeping, both in surrounding objects and in the minds 
of the people, the temples of Egypt must have equalled, if 
not surpassed, all edifices in the world. Even now, too, 
the pilgrim wanderer amid the ruins needs no very vivid 
imagination to lead him to the conviction, that the ancient 
inhabitants of the fertile valley of the Nile were a people 
wonderfully advanced in *the arts of civilized life, and truly 
great in those things to which it took the western world ages 
to attain. These remarks are no more than simple justice to 
the remains of art in Egypt, and may serve as a slight tribute 
at my hands, since I profess myself no great admirer of a 
style of architecture so totally different from all that I have 
been led to think the pure ideal of grace and beauty. 

It may appear somewhat fanciful, but under the influence 
of our present circumstances, and the romance connected 
with the thing, we could not resist the inclination to visit the 
Vocal Memnon at the hour when so many pilgrims, both 
Greek and Roman, came to hear its heavenly voice, as they 



THE VOCAL MEMNON. 



127 



usually termed it. We left our boat about daylight, and 
mounted on horses, rode briskly over the plain towards the 
Colossi, which, in the clear light of early morning, appeared 
to loom up very grandly. Just as the sun sent forth his first 
bright beams, and began to illumine the scene with a glory 
unequalled at any other hour of the day, we arrived in front 
of these colossal statues, and with ears attent, listened for 
that sweet-toned salutation with which, as so many have tes- 
tified, the " Son of Tithonus" was wont to greet the sun's 
daily appearance. We were not of imperial rank, though 
part and parcel of the " sovereign people," and so were not 
treated like the emperor Hadrian, whom the obsequious co- 
lossus saluted three times one bright morning, just to show 
the difference between him and ordinary mortals : nay, as 
you will readily imagine, no sound whatever now issued from 
the Memnon ; its vocal qualities are gone, and its glory and 
reputation departed forever, and, like the far-famed heathen 
oracles which once exercised such vast sway over the minds 
of men, but are now powerless and silent as the grave, so this 
colossus, which in the days of its beauty, and when it had 
its priests and thousands of votaries, was renowned through- 
out Rome's wide-world empire, is now, and has been for hun- 
dreds of years, ruined and defaced, and none? are now found 
so poor as to do it reverence. 

The position of these Colossi is very fine, and doubtless in 
the days when they were uninjured and surrounded by the 
magnificence which characterized Thebes under the Pharaohs, 
they formed objects of wonder and admiration to all beholders. 
They are about a mile and a half from the river, which they 
look towards, and stand in the middle of a broad plain, and 
not very far from the various ruins of which I have spoken 
above. It seems highly probable that these and other colossi 
formed part of the dromos or paved approach to the temple, 
now no longer existing, on this bank of the Nile, which fact 
would accord with the name of " Royal Street," which, as 



128 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Wilkinson states, is mentioned in some papyri found at 
Thebes, and which led to the river opposite Luxor, with 
which it communicated by means of a ferry. By the grad- 
ual rise of the land, the dromos is covered with alluvial de- 
posit to the depth of about seven feet, and of course a large 
part of the pedestal on which the Colossi stand is below the 
present surface of the ground : this is to be taken into ac- 
count in estimating their height and vast proportions.* As 
we approached them, in the distance they did not appear to 
be so lofty and imposing as they really are ; and even when 
we stood at the side of the pedestal, climbed up upon it, and 
stood between the legs of the sitting figure, and looked up to 
the knees, nearly fifteen feet above our heads, we could hardly 
realize their full size : it was a greater amusement to us to 
see if we could catch any idea of the sound which was heard 
in olden times. We struck the stone in various places, but to 
no satisfaction, and we regretted that we had not the means 
of getting up to the lap of the statue, where, Wilkinson states, 
"is a stone which, on being struck, emits a metallic sound, 
that might still be made use of to deceive a visitor who was 
predisposed to believe its powers." Possibly all this was well 
studied out beforehand by the priests, for the stone of which 
the Colossi are* constructed is, according to the same author- 
ity, to which I am so often indebted, " a coarse, hard grit- 
stone, ' spotted,' according to Tzetzes' expression, ' with num- 

* The height of either Colossus is 47 ft., or 53 above the plain, with the pe- 
destal, which, now buried from 6 ft. 10 in. to 7 ft. below the surface, completes to 
its base a total of 60. They measure about 18 ft. 3 in. across the shoulders ; 16 
ft. 6 from the top of the shoulder to the elbow; 10 ft. 6 from the top of the head 
to the shoulder ; 17 ft. 9 from the elbow to the finger's end ; and 19 ft. 8 from 
the knee to the plant of the foot. The thrones are ornamented with figures of 
the god Nilus, who, holding the stalks of two plants peculiar to the river, is en- 
gaged in building up a pedestal or table, surmounted by the name of the Egyp- 
tian monarch — a symbolic group, indicating his dominion over the upper and 
lower countries. A line of hieroglyphics extends perpendicularly down the back, 
from the shoulder to the pedestal, containing the name of the Pharaoh they rep- 
resent. 



DESOLATE CONDITION OF THE COLOSSI. 129 



erous chalcedonies, and here and there covered with black and 
red oxide of iron :' " we can hardly suppose that they left 
themselves open to detection by any ordinary means ; and if 
they kept the stone from which the sound was made to issue 
concealed in the lap of the statue, no' ordinary observer could 
possibly discover by what means the priests rendered the 
colossus vocal. 

In speaking of the Colossi, as I have done, it will, of course, 
be understood that they have little or none of their former 
beauty and grandeur remaining. Most probably it was the 
Persian conqueror who broke down and destroyed the upper 
part of the Vocal Memnon, though Strabo was told that a 
shock of an earthquake did this damage. Its appearance is 
now much inferior to that of the other, defaced and mutilated 
as that is, since the restorer of the upper part, whoever it 
may have been, has piled up five layers of sandstone, which 
form the body, head, and upper part of the arms, but have 
nothing of the finish and workmanship of the rest of the 
statue. Doubtless it once wore the same semblance of massive 
elegance, if the term may be allowed, which even now can 
be detected in the other colossus, where the head-dress is 
beautifully wrought, and which has its shoulders and back 
comparatively quite uninjured ; but no words can express too 
strongly their present desolate, disfigured and ruinous condi- 
tion. You will also bear in mind, that though we use the 
name of Memnon in connection with this colossus, it has really 
no more to do with that rather doubtful personage than the 
obelisks at Alexandria have with Cleopatra, by whose name 
they are commonly called. In reality, these statues were 
erected by Amunoph III., B.C. 1430, or, according to Os- 
burn, B.C. 1687, who was supposed also to bear the name of 
Phamenoth ; and we owe the title which the vocal statue has 
attained to a blunder of the Romans, who were noted for their 
contemptuous treatment of subjects which did not particu- 
larly interest them or minister to their national pride. The 

6* 



130 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



researches into hieroglyphics since the days of Champollion, 
have enabled us to ascertain with precision to whom the 
Colossi belong, and as Sir G. Wilkinson declares, " Amunoph 
once more asserts his claims to the statues he erected." 

I had thought of inflicting upon you some of the Greek 
and Latin inscriptions on the legs and feet of the colossus, to 
show you how learned a man can be on very small means. 
I took the trouble of copying several of these, by way of 
amusement, and I doubt not I could display considerable eru- 
dition in throwing light upon the plain and simple parts, as 
well as in judiciously gliding in silence over the real difficul- 
ties — no uncommon plan, by the by — but I spare you all 
this, and shall leave the inscriptions to rest in peace in the 
" Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature." Let me 
hope that, considering the temptation, my forbearance will 
not go unappreciated. 



LETTER VII. 



%uipox antr 2&a*naft. 

Ruins at Luxor.— General Character— View from the Propyla.— Obelisk.— Beauty and Finish. 
— Colossal Figures. — Sculptures on the Walls. — Ride to Karnak. — Dromos of Sphinxes. — 
Massive Gateways.—" Hundred-Gated Thebes."— The Great Temple —Its Wondrous Extent 
and Grandeur.— Hall of Assembly. — Unequalled in Conception and Execution. — Power and 
Wealth of the Ancient Egyptians.— Beauty and Glory all gone.— Present Desolation.— Edi- 
fices in the Vicinity. — Magnificence and Splendor of Thebes as a Whole. — Comparative An- 
tiquity of the Buildings. — Interesting Discovery of Champollion's. — Shishak. — Jerusalem 
Taken. — Hieroglyphics Explained. — Result. 

Luxor, Feb. 8th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It was far from my intention to have said so much re- 
specting Thebes and its wonderful ruins, and I am not without 
apprehension that I may have wearied you with an attempt 
to speak in terms adequate to the subject, of what exceeds my 
powers faithfully and fully to portray. Had I been wise, per- 
haps, I should have presented to you the more interesting re- 
mains of Karnak first of all, and devoted only a small space 
to those on the west bank ; but I will confess to you I had 
an object in it beyond the mere fact, that such was the order 
in which I visited the ruins of Thebes. I was not without 
hope that you would have the greater patience with me and 
my tediousness, if you supposed that by and by you would 
be compensated with an account of Karnak and its astonish- 
ing and unequalled ruins ; and I took the liberty of presum- 
ing upon your goodness and affection in speaking much more 
at length, and much more diffusely, than I had intended : let 
me hope that I have not wrongly judged, but that you will 



132 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



bear with even another letter on a topic so full of attractive- 
ness as this is to those who visit the East. Most certainly, 
if Karnak and Luxor do not interest you as much as it is 
my earnest hope they will, and as they should, the fault is 
wholly my own ; and you must not think the less of what all 
travellers find that they have not words truly and fairly to 
represent, because you have sad proof of my dulness and in- 
efficiency. 

During most of our stay at Thebes, our boat was moored 
directly opposite the ruins at Luxor, which is a market-town 
of some size, and rendered more important than it otherwise 
would be, by the frequency with which travellers come to visit 
the remains of the ancient metropolis of Egypt.* Hardly an 
hour passed, when we were on board, in which the eye was 
not attracted by the massive pillars, which seemed, as it were, 
to form a grand entrance to a city beyond ; the lofty propy- 
lon, built strongly enough for a castle or military post; 
and the magnificent obelisk which Mohammed Ali presented, 
together with its fellow now in Paris, to the late king of 
France ; and, on several occasions, as we happened to be at 
Luxor when the moon was full, we had a view of the ruins 
by moonlight, a view which I can safely say, was unsurpassed 
by anything I ever saw in any land. One day, accompanied 
by our guide, T set out to explore the ruins with some partic- 
ularity. We passed through the broad spaces between the 
columns which face toward the river, and admiring their 
great size and imposing appearance, even in their present de- 
graded and unworthy position, we came to an open space be- 
yond, where was once a large court connected with the other 
parts of the temple ; but now nothing could be more repul- 
sive than the appearance of everything connected with these 

* Luxor, or Luksor, occupies a part of the site of ancient Diospolis ; and its 
name signifies "the Palaces," from the temples there erected by Amunoph III. 
(B.C. 1430) and Remeses II. (B.C. 1355). According to the distances given by 
Sir G. Wilkinson, it is 464 miles south of Cairo. 



CHARACTER OF THE RUINS AT LUXOR. 



133 



ruins. Not only are the huts of the fellahm built in and about 
the temple, but heaps of filth lie in every direction ; pigeon- 
houses are stuck up against the walls ; different rooms, filled 
once with splendid sculpture and elegant decorations, are now 
used for stables for cattle, and disgust one by the ordure which 
it is necessary to encounter in order to inspect some interesting 
point ; and beside all, what I have several times noted before, 
the living objects, in the way of men, women and children, 
are scarcely less repulsive to one's feelings and wishes at such 
a time as this. These remarks are true of every part of the 
ruins at Luxor, and if I do not enlarge upon the annoyances 
we met with, you will not suppose that I felt them any the 
less keenly. Following my guide, I made my way through 
several passages and huts, and had a good chance to inspect 
an Arab school, which was as noisy as any of the primary 
institutions in our good city of New York. Mounting up- 
ward, now through a fellah's hut, now over the top of hab- 
itations into which one can look without difficulty, and now 
clambering up a narrow stone staircase, half in ruins, we ar- 
rived at the top of the large pyramidal towers which form the 
grand entrance to the temple, and face northerly in the direc- 
tion of Karnak * I sat for some time on the broad surface at 
the top of this noble gateway, admiring the scene which is here 
spread out to the view. Perhaps nowhere could one obtain a 
better position in which to look abroad over the grand plain 
where Thebes once stood in all her glory, and in which to 
muse over her fallen greatness, and her majesty even in ruins. 
I noticed here the names of many travellers, among which 
were those of Prince " Puckler Muskau," "W. Pottinger," 
&c, and several countrymen, as "E. Robinson, 1838," "E. 
Bergh, D. Austin, N. Y., 1841," &o. The mania for writ- 
ing names has not died out, even in 1849, since, though the 

* This propylon is computed to be two hundred feet in length, and nearly 
sixty feet high. I measured some of the coping stones of the towers, and found 
them to be seven feet in width by nearly double that in length. 



134 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



number of persons who have ascended the Nile is less this 
year than in former years, there is no lack of names to show 
who has made a pilgrimage at the present date : you will 
need no assurance that Americans figure quite as largely as 
others in this matter. 

The obelisk which stands in front of the propylon just 
spoken of, at a distance of about thirty feet, is certainly one 
of the most beautifully executed things which Egypt pre- 
sents to the admiration of the lovers of art. It is not sur- 
passed by the larger one at Karnak ; and if my recollection 
do not greatly mislead me, is in far better preservation than 
that which now adorns the great Square in Paris. I assure 
you, that I stood looking at this splendid shaft with unmixed 
delight, notwithstanding I felt how sadly out of place is every- 
thing of a living kind which surrounds it, and how liable it 
is to injury and defacement, from the ignorance and careless- 
ness of the peasantry, and sometimes the relic-loving propen- 
sities of travellers. It is of the finest kind of red granite, has 
received a polish and beauty of finish inimitably fine, and 
rises to a height of about eighty feet, being about seven feet 
square at the base. Its four sides are covered with a profusion 
of hieroglyphics, which are " no less admirable for the style 
of their execution, than for the depth to which they are cut, 
which, in many instances, exceeds two inches." My skill in 
reading hieroglyphics being very slight, I did not attempt to 
interpret what is written, in these mysterious characters, on 
the faces of the obelisk. I occupied myself more agreeably, 
in admiring the work of the artist who, thousands of years 
ago, traced out the various symbols on which my eyes now 
rested, and which it seemed almost impossible to persuade 
myself, were not the work of the present generation. I do 
not speak too strongly, for the freshness of color, and the pre- 
cision and accuracy of the sculpture, are perfectly astonishing; 
and did we not know positively, that the obelisk, as well as 
other grand objects at Thebes, were executed so many ages 



BATTLE SCENES ON THE WALLS. 135 



gone by, we should not deem it possible that any works of 
art could retain their beauty and elegance for more than 
three thousand two hundred years. 

Directly behind the obelisk and the spot where its com- 
panion stood, are two colossal sitting figures of Remeses II., 
placed on either side of the pylon or gateway; but, like all 
the statues which I have seen, they are greatly mutilated 
and broken : these are also half-buried in the sand and earth, 
which has gradually accumulated about them. I need not, 
however, dwell upon objects comparatively of little interest : 
far more striking and more worthy of a lengthened descrip- 
tion, are the battle scenes sculptured on the front of the 
towers. Though concealed, to a considerable extent, by the 
huts of the villagers, and evidently not in their best condition, 
these sculptures strike one very forcibly, as illustrative of the 
skill and taste of the artists so many centuries ago ; and, to 
use the language of Mr. Hamilton, as quoted by Dr. Russell, it 
is impossible " to view and to reflect upon a picture so copious 
and so detailed, as this I have just described, without fancying 
that we saw here the original of many of Homer's battles, 
the portrait of some of the historical narratives of Herodotus, 
and one of the principal groundworks of the description of 
Diodorus : and to complete our gratification, we felt that, 
ha4 the artist been better acquainted with the rules of per- 
spective, the performance might have done credit to the genius 
of a Michael Angelo, or a Julio Romano. To add to the 
effect, in front of this wall had been erected a row of colossal 
figures of granite ; fragments of some of them, still there, 
sufficiently attest their size, their character, and the exquisite 
polish of the stone." 

I shall not attempt to describe the various portions of the 
temple at Luxor, more especially since they are detailed with 
much fulness in the admirable " Hand Book for Egypt ;" nor 
will it particularly interest you, to be told into how many 
ruined chambers I ventured to follow my guide. It would 



136 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



be difficult, without something of a ground plan, to render 
clear the position of what remains, or to give anything of an 
idea of what this temple was, in the days of the great Sesos- 
tris, whose warlike achievements and glory form so prominent 
a part of its sculptured decorations. If you feel curious to 
read the details, you cannot do better than consult the valu- 
able work so frequently referred to, "Modern Egypt and 
Thebes." At present, I doubt not, that I shall have your 
pardon, if I leave these ruins, though so imperfectly and 
briefly described, and occupy the remainder of my letter with 
some account of the grand and imposing remains at Karnak. 

It is rather an interesting ride from Luxor, in a northerly 
direction, towards Karnak, through the fields of half eh grass, 
and passing by the many interesting sites of ancient ruins, 
the tomb of a noted sheikh, portions of an old wall, &c. As 
one draws near the temple, he begins to see the evidences of 
there having been an avenue or street of great size, connect- 
ing Luxor with Karnak, even as the former was connected 
with the temples and palaces on the west bank. Fragments, 
for they can hardly be called more, of Sphinxes, arranged on 
either hand, show the direction of the street, and even in their 
almost shapeless condition, give one something of an idea of 
the grandeur of the approach to Karnak in former days. 
Shortly after, passing over a dromos, or continuation of the 
same avenue, in which are Criosphinxes, or Sphinxes with 
rams' heads, a very imposing pylon attracts the attention : it 
was the work of Ptolemy Euergetes and Berenice his sister 
(B.C. 246), who, according to the abominable practice of those 
days, was also his wife and queen. These gateways are 
frequently very grand and majestic ; and though they would 
probably be out of place anywhere but in Egypt, they here 
suit admirably with the massive style of architecture, m 
which the ancient people of this land seemed to delight. They 
are very lofty, with very thick and solid walls, and highly 
decorated with sculptures, generally in intaglio, and a profu- 



GRAND TEMPLE AT KARNAK. 



137 



sion of hieroglyphics. This particular one is a fine specimen 
of Egyptian pyla, and, in general, may be compared with 
edifices like Napoleon's grand Triumphal Arch in Paris, 
which was erected for a purpose not very unlike that which 
appears to have prompted the monarchs of Egypt at different 
periods, to add to the glories and extent of Karnak. Passing 
through this Ptolemaic pylon, another avenue, similarly adorned 
with Sphinxes, leads to the pyramidal towers or propyla of 
a temple behind this gateway. It was now that we began to 
form some idea of Homer's Jxaxd/mvXoi Qr\3ai (II, ix. 383),* an 
expression which, as there are not the slightest traces of city 
walls or gates, almost certainly refers — if it be more than 
a poetic expletive — to the propyla or gateways of the tem- 
ples — we did not, however, stop at this point to examine any- 
thing, when the grand temple was so near at hand, and over- 
shadowing every object else by its vast size and importance, 
but hastened onward to gaze at its wonders in silent admira- 
tion. 

The front or main entrance is on the northwest side, where 
we took our stand, and had our first view of the largest and 
grandest temple in the world. Its extent is almost bewilder- 
ing, and it was a long time before I could form any sort of 
idea of what was before me. Just fancy yourself placed at 
an immense doorway, and looking into a building whose width 
is between three and four hundred feet, and length nearly 
twelve hundred feet, and whose walls are proportionably thick, 
massive, and lofty : imagine, if you can, hundreds of columns, 
so large and so grand, as to excite unbounded astonishment, 
seen at various distances, and in various positions, and form- 

* " Not all proud Thebes' unrivalled walls contain, 
The world's great Empress on th' Egyptian plain ; 
That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states, 
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates, 
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, 
From each wide portal issuing to the wars." Pope. 



138 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

ing a feature in the scene, unlike what the eye ever before 
beheld : think, too, of the vast propyla, the lofty obelisks, 
the extensive courts, the sanctuary of red granite, and such- 
like things, and you may perhaps catch an idea of that, which 
I have no words adequately to describe, and with which every 
traveller, from the enthusiastic Frenchman down to the most 
phlegmatic German or Englishman, is enraptured : # enter, 
if you will, in imagination, and walk amid the ruins : see 
".hat destruction the hand of violence has wrought ; notice 
the portions of columns strewed about, the broken walls, the 
massive stones lying under foot ; measure the circumference 
of a column, or the size of a lintel stone, and realize what 
immense blocks the ancient Egyptians managed to elevate to 
great heights : pause awhile in the grand hall, with its pro- 
fusion of columns and its decorations, even yet worthy of 
admiration, and count its pillars : see what towers rise be- 
fore you, and not far beyond, what a magnificent obelisk of 
the most beautifully polished red granite, points its lofty head 

* M. Denon uses the following language on catching a first view of these 
ruins: "At nine o'clock, in making a sharp turn round a projecting point, we 
discovered all at once the site of ancient Thebes, in its whole extent. This cele- 
brated city, the size of which Homer has characterized with the single expres- 
sion of the hundred-gated — a boasting and poetical phrase, which has been re- 
peated with so much confidence for so many centuries ; — this illustrious city, 
described in a few pages dictated to Herodotus by Egyptian priests, that have 
since been copied by every historian, — celebrated by the number of its kings, 
whose wisdom had raised them to the rank of gods, — by laws which have been 
revered without being promulgated, — by science, involved in pompous and en- 
igmatical inscriptions, — the first monuments of ancient learning, which are still 
spared by the hand of time, —this abandoned sanctuary, surrounded with bar- 
barism, and again restored to the desert from which it had been drawn forth. — 
enveloped in the veil of mystery and the obscurity of ages, whereby even its own 
colossal monuments are magnified to the imagination, — still impressed the mind 
with such gigantic phantoms, that the whole army, suddenly and with one ac- 
cord, stood in amazement at the sight of its scattered ruins, and clapped their 
hands with delight, as if the end and object of their glorious toils, and the com- 
plete conquest of Egypt, were accomplished and secured by taking possession 
of the splendid remains of this ancient metropolis." — Russell's " Ancient and 
Modern Egypt" p. 203. 



IMMENSE EXTENT OF THE RUINS. 



139 



to the skies — " in its meek beauty, the record of a daughter's 
love, love strong as death, stronger, for it has triumphed :" 
look at the sad ruins all around, and reflect for a moment 
upon the powerful means which must have been used, to de- 
stroy, as well as to erect such works as these : walk still 
further on, and gaze at other portions of this grand temple, 
without pretending for a moment to examine aught in detail ; 
and when you have done this much, take note of the time 
which even so cursory a look at Karnak has consumed, and 
you will be surprised to find that the hours have slipped away, 
you know not how, and that you have not yet begun to take 
in the grandeur of the scene, or to comprehend the greatness 
of those, who, ages ago, ruled in power and glory in hundred- 
gated Thebes. 

If, on former occasions, I have not ventured to go into de- 
tails, much less dare I venture here to pretend to describe 
with any fulness and precision, the varied objects which meet 
the eye of the beholder, and fill him with inexpressible aston- 
ishment. You will have to be indebted to imagination, in 
great measure, for very much that exceeds the power of words 
to express ; and I am confident that I should fail utterly were 
I to attempt to tell you particularly of each massive doorway, 
each grand court or corridor, each statue or obelisk ; or to en- 
ter into an account of the thousands of hieroglyphics, many 
of them deeply important in a historical point of view ; the 
unrivalled columns ; or of the sculptures, which are found on 
every wall, and illustrative of so many and so various sub- 
jects.^ With your permission, therefore, I shall pass over in 

* " Never were pages more graphic. The gathering, the march, the melee — 
the Pharaoh's prowess, standing erect, as he always does, in his car — no char- 
ioteer—the reins attached to his waist — the arrow drawn to his ear — his horses, 
all fire, springing into the air like Pegasuses, — and then, the agony of the dying, 
transfixed by his darts, the relaxed limbs of the slain — Homer's truth itself ; and 
lastly, the triumphant return, the welcome home, and the offering of thanksgiv- 
ing to Amunre— the fire, the discrimination with which these ideas are bodied 
forth, they must be seen to judge of it." — Lord Lindsay's " Letters on Egypt, 1 ' 
&c, p. 85. 



140 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



silence the principal portion of this grand temple, simply ask- 
ing you to go with me a while into the large hall of assem- 
bly, and look at it a little more closely. We have entered, 
you will recollect, through the pylon or doorway, crossed an 
open court or area nearly three hundred feet in width, with 
a double line of columns down the centre, and have come 
to the propyla and entrance leading into the great hall : no- 
tice for a moment what a wall is before you, rising up aloft 
some eighty or ninety feet, and being more than thirty feet 
in thickness ; what immense blocks of stone are these, what 
strength they possessed, what towers of defence against as- 
sault they must have proved ! what lintel stones are those 
over the doorway, more than forty feet in length ! Let us 
enter the hall and look about us. It " measures," says Wil- 
kinson, " 170 feet by 329, and is supported by a central 
avenue of twelve massive columns, 66 feet high (without the 
pedestal and abacus) and twelve in diameter ; besides 122 
of smaller, or (rather) less gigantic dimensions, 41 feet 9 
inches in height, and 27 feet 6 inches in circumference, dis- 
tributed in seven lines on either side of the former." Stop 
for a while and examine one of these columns, so massive, 
wrought with so much skill, and adorned with such a variety 
of sculpture : what singular design has been displayed, what 
strange conceptions of art, what surprising accuracy in exe- 
cution, along with equally surprising errors and faults : go 
which way we will, and the coup cPasil is strikingly grand 
and impressive ; so many of the columns are standing and in 
good preservation, that we could not have a finer specimen 
of Egyptian architecture than this, and the few that are 
prostrate or half fallen, afford us an opportunity to look at 
them and wonder as much as we will at the powerful means 
employed to cat out of the quarries and put in their present 
places such extraordinarily large blocks of stone. Notice the 
sculpture on one of these columns ; generally it is in intaglio, 
sometimes in bas relief : what singular beauty and nobleness 



GRANDEUR OF THE HALL OF ASSEMBLY. 141 

the heads and faces present, especially those of the female 
figures ; but what strangely ill-proportioned persons many 
of these have i* observe how nearly the artist approached to 
the perspective, and yet how sadly deficient his work is from 
ignorance of that important point in art ; and particularly 
notice the prominence given to a religious view of all sub- 
jects, in the constant introduction of the gods and god- 
desses, the offerings made to them, and the hieroglyphics 
expressing the adoration of the deities, and the care of the 
kings to promote their worship and honor. Look, too, at 
the walls of this grand hall or chamber, and remembering 
that the king in whose reign it was erected lived some three 
thousand two hundred and thirty years ago, note the fresh- 
ness and beauty of the colors, the bright blue, the dazzling 
vermilion, the pale green, the lovely yellow, and many others : 
does it not seem well nigh impossible that these colors could 
have lasted through so many centuries, and be even now 
strikingly beautiful ? Observe, likewise, what is sculptured 
on the walls : you may not, any more than myself, be capa- 
ble of reading with fluency the story which the hieroglyphics 
tell, and without much previous study you will not see the 
reason or propriety of many things which appear very singu- 
lar, not to say grotesque ; but nevertheless you can enjoy 
with me such points as are open to the view of all ; you can 
see what progress the ancient Egyptians had made in the 
arts of sculpture, painting and architecture ; you can form 
something of an idea of their warlike spirit, of their wealth, 
their luxury, their amusements, their occupations, and their 
religious sentiments and conduct; and you can appreciate 
their greatness in some or many respects, and mourn over 
their degradation and superstition in those matters which 

* I measured several of the figures sculptured on the walls and columns, and 
in illustration of the remark above. I may mention that one of the female fig- 
ures, five feet two inches high, had a waist of five inches, and a foot of fourteen 
inches in length : and this was the usual proportion. 



142 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



most truly manifest what spirit men are of. And when we 
have spent hours in this way, in endeavoring to gain knowl- 
edge and instruction, and in the enjoyment of a scene, the 
like to which the world nowhere else presents, we may seat 
ourselves on some fragment of a column, or on one of those 
immense blocks of stone which lie strewed around, and in 
melancholy mood, listening to the chirping of the birds who 
now inhabit these desolate halls, may muse over the destruc- 
tion which awaits the might, majesty, and dominion of man. 

I fear, my dear S., that all this will appear to you as mere 
vague generality, and that you will not gain the idea, which 
I am so desirous you should, in respect to these vast and im- 
pressive ruins. You will not, I trust, suppose, that aught 
remains in its primitive state of beauty and glory ; for, in 
truth, the very reverse is the case : on every hand is ruin and 
desolation. Not only has time done its work, but the hand 
of the conqueror has been stretched forth, on more than one 
occasion, to break down the power and magnificence of ancient 
Thebes ; and one is astonished at the vast efforts which were 
made, to destroy the works of art in the temples of Egypt — 
efforts which, it would appear, were almost as laborious as 
those which were needful to erect them at the first. "Were 
we not assured, that the powerful agency of gunpowder was 
unknown in those early times, we should certainly attribute 
to its explosive force, much of the injury which has been 
done to the vast columns, walls, obelisks, statues, &c. ; for, 
while equally with others, I am lost in wonder at the skill 
of the artists, who could elaborate such vast, and often ele- 
gant works, with only tools of copper, as it is generally stated, 
I am none the less surprised at the means, whatever they 
may have been, by which the conquering Persian succeeded 
in dashing in pieces such immense blocks of the hardest gran- 
ite ; in overthrowing statues, weighing, in some cases, nearly 
nine hundred tons ; in prostrating obelisks, columns and door- 
ways ; in levelling walls of a thickness almost beyond credi- 



VASTNESS OF THEBES AS A WHOLE. 



143 



bility, and such-like things. But, not only must you not 
suppose, that the beauty or glory of Karnak remains, or that 
you can walk amid aught but ruins in the grand temple ; 
you rmJst also recollect, that vast as is the main temple, and 
astonishing as it is in every respect, it does not constitute all 
which meets the eye, and fills the mind with inexpressible 
emotions. I have alluded to the avenue of Sphinxes, through 
which one passes in approaching Karnak from the south, and 
a majestic pylon, of the days of the Ptolemies. Other and 
grander things are in the vicinity. Numerous buildings and 
smaller temples are not far off, which, by themselves, would 
be imposing and grand, but being near the principal temple, 
are considered as nothing by comparison. Here one sees a 
prodigious gateway, of polished granite, covered with sculp- 
ture, and adorned with colossal statues; and there, some 
other edifice, not directly connected with the great temple, 
but included in the ruins, meets the view, and, mingled 
with the evidences of later life, and the sad falling off from 
former greatness, in the mud huts of the peasantry, some- 
times built in and upon the remains of ancient temples, tends 
to deepen the impression which Karnak, as a whole, is calcu- 
lated to make, on the mind and memory of the least imagina- 
tive person. Add to this, too, the consideration, that Karnak 
was, after all, only a part of old Thebes ; that it was connected 
with Luxor by the dromos of Sphinxes ; that Luxor was 
connected with the splendid temples, palaces, obelisks, and 
statues, on the west bank ; and that the whole covered a 
circuit of, it is said, thirty miles ; and you will need, as you 
can have, nothing more to prove, that on this plain are the 
grandest, most astonishing, and most interesting ruins in the 
world. I may, perhaps, be allowed to use the language of 
Denon, a French traveller, who accompanied the expedition 
which Bonaparte sent into Egypt, and with some allowance 
for what may be thought exaggeration, may adopt it as ex- 
pressive of my own sentiments : " One is fatigued with wri- 



144 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ting," he declares ; " one is fatigued with reading ; one is 
stunned with the thought of such a conception (as Karnak 
demands). It is hardly possible to believe, after having seen 
it, in the reality of the existence of so many buildiigs, col- 
lected at a single point, in their dimensions, in the resolute 
perseverance which their construction required, and in the 
incalculable expenses of so much magnificence. On examin- 
ing these ruins, the imagination is wearied with the idea of 
describing them. Of the hundred columns of the porticos 
alone of this temple, the smallest are seven feet and a half in 
diameter, and the largest twelve. The space occupied by this 
circumvallation contains lakes and mountains. In short, to be 
enabled to form a competent idea of so much magnificence, it 
is necessary that the reader should fancy what is before him to 
be a dream, as he who views the objects themselves occasion- 
ally yields to the doubt, whether he be perfectly awake."* 

It is not necessary that I should speak with particularity 
of the comparative antiquity of the buildings, which go to 
make up the grand temple. Of course you will understand, 
that the vast extent to which it attained was the work of 
time, and that various monarchs of Egypt, to gratify their 
pride or vanity, or manifest their piety, made various additions 
to the earlier structures. Wilkinson is of opinion, that no 
part remains of the original foundation of the temple ; but as 
the name of Osirtasen I., the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt in 
the days of Joseph, or earlier, as Osburn thinks, has been 
found on some prostrate columns, near what was the sanctu- 
ary, it proves that we have here not only the oldest building 
in Thebes, but ruins which carry us back about three thou- 
sand six hundred years. Later kings added the obelisks and 
the chambers near the sanctuary. Thothmes III., in whose 
reign the Exodus took place, " made large additions to the 
buildings and sculptures, as well in the vicinity of the sanc- 
tuary as in the back part of the great inclosure ; where the 

* Russell's "Ancient and Modern Egypt," p. 211. 

6 



WORKS OF THE EGYPTIAN KINGS. 



145 



columnar edifice (to the southeast), the side chambers, and 
all the others in that direction, were added by his orders." 
Subsequently, Osirei, a great conqueror, and his son Remeses 
II., probably the far-famed Sesostris, beautified and enlarged 
the bounds of the temple : the former added the grand hall, 
spoken of above, and the latter caused to be designed and 
executed, very many of those striking sculptures on the north- 
east side, which illustrate the extent and variety of his mar- 
tial achievements. The son of Remeses II. continued the 
work begun by his illustrious father, and built the area in 
front, with massive propyla, preceded by granite colossi, and 
an avenue of Sphinxes; and succeeding monarchs adding 
still more and more, the several edifices by degrees became 
united in one grand whole, connected either by avenues of 
Sphinxes, or by crude brick inclosures. After the time of 
Cambyses, B.C. 525, who manifested such intensity of rage 
against the monuments and temples of Egypt, some other, 
but less important additions were made, and various repairs 
and sculptures were introduced, as late as the last ages of 
Egyptian independence. Ptolemy Lathyrus, however, B.C. 
116, exasperated against the rebellious citizens of Thebes, 
appears to have done this ancient city greater injury, than 
even the Persian conqueror ; and as we are informed, reduced 
it to so deplorable a state, that it "no longer deserved a rank 
among the cities of Egypt." Since that period, it has gra- 
dually sunk into insignificance, and for ages has lain in ruins. 

Before leaving Karnak, and its astonishing remains of an- 
cient art and magnificence, I must beg your indulgence for a 
short space, to one of the most interesting sculptures in the 
whole temple, particularly on account of its connection with 
Scripture history. Some time before the visit of the French 
and Italian commission to Egypt, in 1828, Champollion le 
Jeune had discovered, on the exterior southwest wall, near 
the doorway, the cartouche, which proved, on examination, to 
refer to the capture of Jerusalem by the Egyptian king, called 

7 



146 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Shishak in the Bible. You will recollect the passage, in 
which this expedition is spoken of: "It came to pass, that in 
the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, 
came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed 
against the Lord, with twelve hundred chariots, and three- 
score thousand horsemen ; # and the people were without 
number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, 
the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced 
cities which pertained, to Judah, and came to Jerusalem." 
It having pleased God to warn the king and princes of the 
consequences of their disobedience and sin, they found grace 
to repent and humble themselves, so that He did not destroy 
them, or pour out His wrath upon Jerusalem, by the hand of 
Shishak : nevertheless, says the Lord, by His prophet, they 
•shall be the servants of the king of Egypt, " that they may 
know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the coun- 
tries. So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, 
and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and 
the treasures of the king's house ; he took all : he carried 
away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made."! 
This was in the year B.C. 971, according to the usual chro- 
nology. On the king's return to Egypt, various sculptures 
were added to the walls of the temple at Karnak, illustrating 
his conquests, and the cities and countries which he had. sub- 
dued, this of the " kingdom of Judah," among the rest. Perhaps 
you will not be displeased at having this interesting cartouche 
as I have copied it from the "Egypte Ancienne" of Cham- 
pollion-Figeac, and carefully compared with the original, at 
the time of our visit. As to the features and expression of 
the face, I will not answer for their exactness ; but, although 
they differ somewhat from the plate given by Rosselini, in his 

* " We take this opportunity of remarking that the horse was only used in 
ancient Egypt for warlike purposes, yoked in the chariot. The art of riding the 
horse would appear by the monuments to have been unknown there in early times. 
It was probably of Scythian origin."— Osburn's " Antiquities of Egypt" p. 227. 

t 2 Chron. xii. 2—9. 



148 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Here you will observe the figure of a captive, bound and at- 
tached to a large number of others (on the same wall, but not 
appearing in the picture above). The king, whose proportions 
are colossal, is represented as standing erect and threatening, 
with his arms stretched out, the group of prisoners and foreign- 
ers, whom he is holding by the hair with one of his hands. He 
conducts before the Theban triad, (i. e. Amn, Neith, Khunsu,) 
the chiefs of more than thirty nations, whom he has subdued : 
they are bound by the neck, and each of them has near him 
an embattled shield or buckler, in which is inscribed the 
name of the conquered country or city. The prince whose 
figure you see above, is one of these : he has a pointed beard, 
and the physiognomy of an Asiatic, and the name of his 
kingdom is written in the shield. The king, whose arms 
effected all this, bears the name of Sheshonk, the Sesonchis 
of Manetho's lists, and evidently the same as Shishak of the 
Scriptures.^ In order that you may see how the hieroglyphics 
are interpreted, I subjoin those contained in the cartouche 
above, with the names of the phonetic signs and their equiv- 
alent letters : 

= two reeds : sound I, originally, AA. 

= duckling (hen) : sound U. 
= open hand : " T. 

= maeander : " HA. 

= stand of a boat : " M. 

= arm: " A,likeHeb. 5 

= lion : " L, R. 

= bowl with a handle : " K. 



* <£ Les Monuments Egyptiens encore subsistants confirment hautement ces 
recits de la Bible : la premiere cour du grand palais de Karnac a Thebes, est, 



EXPLANATION OF HIEROGLYPHICS. 



149 



= a hill : determinative of districts and countries. 

0= walled fort : determinative of names of foreign 
prisoners, which it incloses. 



When arranged according to the manner in which the phone- 
tics are to be read, they are as follows, beginning at the left 
hand : — 




Country 



That is, as Chevalier Bunsen gives it, Iutaha Maluk,* the 
" kingdom of Judsea." Wilkinson expresses the hieroglyph- 
ics by Yooda-Melchi : Champollion-Figeac gives Jouda Ha- 
malek ; but all, as you perceive, amount to the same thing in 
substance. 

And now, my dear S., perhaps this evening or some time 
to-morrow, we shall say farewell to Thebes forever; not 
without many regrets at the shortness of our stay, and at the 
brief and rapid manner in which we have been compelled to 

en partie, ornee de bas-reliefs. L'un des plus etendus represente un roi de pro- 
portions colossales, menacant de ses armes un groupe de prisonniers etrangers 
qu'il tient par les cheveux, d'une ses mains. Le meme roi conduit aussi devant 
la trinite thebaine les chefs de plus de trente nations qu'il a vaincues ; ils sont 
lies par le cou, et chacun d'eux a pres de lui un bouclier crenele, dans lequel 
son nom est inscrit. Or, un de ces princes de ces peuples vaincus, a barbe 
pointue et a physionomie asiatique, est nomme dans son bouclier Jouda Hama- 
lek, le royaume de Juda, et le roi qui l'a soumis a ses armes, porte, dans cette 
meme scene, le nom de Scheschonk ; c'est le Sesac vainqueur de Juda a Jerusa- 
lem, et Sesonchis des listes de Manethon."— " Egypte Ancienne," par M. Cham- 
pollion-Figeac, p. 359. 

* See Bunsen's " Egypt's Place," &c, vol. I. p. 561. I have copied from his 
valuable Appendix, the forms, sounds, &c, of the phonetics ; the smaller letters 
at the sides of some of the larger ones are the vowels supplied to make up and 
pronounce the words. 



150 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



go over its time-honored remains. Personally, I shall have 
the less sadness at going away, partially satisfied, if I can 
but feel persuaded, that what I have written will meet your 
approbation, or minister to your pleasure in any wise. May 
I entertain that hope ? 



LETTER VIII. 



3Benfcera— 3Ss*<S tout— M en U Hassan. 

Remains at Dendera.— Visit to the Temple.— Description.— Date— Inferior Style of Architec- 
ture—Interesting as a Whole.— The Zodiac— Unfounded Views once entertained.— Cleo- 
patra.— Singular Representation. — Es-Siout. — Visit to the Coptic Bishop. — Appearance. — 
Conversation. — Characteristics. — Second Visit. — Coptic Churches. — Style and Arrangements. 
—Bishop of Esneh.— Character and Standing.— Stabl Antar.— Interesting Locality.— Beni- 
Hassan. — General Character of the Grottoes. — Paintings and Sculptures. — Supposed Con- 
nection with Joseph and his Brethren.— Exciting Interest of the Scene. 

Grottoes of Beni-Hassan, Feb. 16th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

Though I date my present letter from this deeply inter- 
esting point, in our journey down the Nile, I find that there 
are several rather important things, which it will hardly be 
proper to omit altogether, and which, therefore, I must beg 
your indulgence to permit me to speak of, before describing 
the grottoes of Beni-Hassan. I refer to our visits to Dendera 
and Es-Siout : the former of these was attended with pleasure 
of no ordinary kind, in the opportunity thus afforded of seeing 
a temple in a state of comparative perfection and complete- 
ness ; and the latter was hardly less interesting and agreeable 
to me, from the fact, that I was privileged in this way to 
gain some insight into the condition of the Coptic church and 
its bishops and clergy. Bear with me awhile, should I seem 
to enlarge too much upon these matters, or lose sight of the 
fact, that, perhaps no locality in Egypt has greater claims 
upon the traveller, than the one whence I am now writing. 
The ruins at Dendera, or Tentyra, are situate on the west 



152 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



bank of the Nile, four hundred and sixteen miles from Cairo, op- 
posite Kineh, which is a modern town, of some importance, be- 
cause of its proximity to Kosseir, on the Red Sea, and its con- 
nection with the probable course which the overland travel and 
trade to India will assume. According to Wilkinson, the name 
Tentyra, in Coptic Tentore or Nikentore, seems to have origin- 
ated in that of the goddess Athor or Aphrodite, who was parti- 
cularly worshipped there ; and the hieroglyphics, as well as the 
Greek inscription on the front of the main temple, show that 
it was dedicated to the goddess of love and beauty. As our 
boat lay up at Kineh for the day, we crossed the river in our 
small-boat, and took donkeys for the ride to the temple, which 
is about three and a half miles, and through an uninhabited 
and rather desolate region. We passed, now and then, a 
flock of goats and sheep, tended by some children and noisy 
dogs, and were saluted with the usual cry, bakhshish, ya 
khawageh) and in the course of an hour and a half, arrived 
in the vicinity of the temple. We entered a rather fine pylon, 
and walked several hundred feet up a narrow dromos, with 
walls of crude brick on either side, which leads directly to 
the portico of the temple. A descent by steps of some twenty 
feet, brought us to the level of the floor, and gave us an op- 
portunity to inspect an Egyptian temple, in a better state of 
preservation than any which we have seen. The massive 
columns of the portico are but little injured by time or vio- 
lence; the walls are all standing, and the sculptures and 
hieroglyphics in a state of comparative completeness ; the 
roof is preserved ; and the interior rooms and chambers, 
though more or less defaced from various causes, enable one 
to form a good idea of the internal arrangements of an ancient 
temple, devoted to the worship of an Egyptian deity. With- 
out pretending to enter into an accurate description of the 
various portions of the temple, I may mention that the por- 
tico is supported by twenty-four columns, the circumference 
of each of which, I found on measurement, to be nearly 



DATE OF THE TEMPLE AT DENDERA. 153 

twenty-nine feet. The portico is open to the front, above the 
screens that unite six of its columns ; and in each of the side- 
walls is a small doorway. To the portico — I use Wilkinson's 
words — succeeds a hall of six columns, with three rooms on 
either side ; then a central chamber, communicating on one 
side with two small rooms, and on the other with a staircase. 
This is followed by another similar chamber (with two rooms 
on the west and one on the east side), immediately before the 
isolated sanctuary, which has a passage leading round it, and 
communicating with three rooms on either side. The total 
length of the temple is about two hundred and twenty feet, 
by ninety-four, or across the portico a hundred and fifteen 
feet : its date, according to the inscription on the fillet of the 
cornice of the portico, is of the time of the Emperor Tiberius. 

The circumstance just mentioned will account for the fact, 
which is quite evident even to an inexperienced observer, that 
the temple at Dendera is of a later and a declining style of art. 
I was struck with this, more especially at this time, when I 
had only three or four days before left Karnak and the won- 
ders of ancient Thebes, where, despite the defects which I 
have presumed to allude to, there is a nobleness and massive 
grandeur in the architectural remains of the temples, obelisks, 
statues, &c, which cannot but attract the attention of the 
most unscientific visitor. Here, however, the capitals of the 
columns appeared to me deficient in taste, quite to the extent 
with which they are over-ornamented : they want the sim- 
plicity and grace which characterized the earlier works of art 
in Egypt ; the sculptures are not executed with the skill and 
care which might have been expected ; and, as has been as- 
serted, the hieroglyphics are ill adjusted, and in crowded pro- 
fusion. I speak with the utmost diffidence on these points, 
because I am entirely conscious how unfitted I am by the 
habits of life in which I have indulged, to speak either scien- 
tifically or with precision, of architecture in its respective 
branches. T should not venture to say even one word, were I 

7* 



154 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

not aware, that you will look for some opinion from me on 
such subjects, little worth as that opinion may be in general. 
If you will do me the kindness to receive it, as from one who 
looks at the wonders of Egypt with feelings of profound as- 
tonishment, and the deepest interest, and who has no other 
standard of judgment save that which belongs to all travellers, 
without reference to their scientific attainments, I shall be 
satisfied, and you will not be liable to err to any extent, as to 
the value of any sentiment herein expressed. But, to return 
from this digression : the temple of Dendera is certainly open 
to criticism, and yet it wears an imposing appearance, and is 
not devoid of beauty and grandeur ; and I well recollect, that 
by the older travellers, before its actual date was known, it 
was spoken of in terms of the highest, nay, most extravagant 
admiration. However it may be esteemed by those who come 
after the present race of Egyptologers and travellers, there 
can be no doubt, that it will always be looked upon with in- 
terest, as a noble specimen of architecture, as it existed in 
the days of the early Roman emperors, and when science 
was on its decline in the land of the Ptolemies.* 

We spent some considerable time in exploring the various 
chambers and halls of the temple, many of which required 
torches to enable us to distinguish the sculptures and orna- 
ments which they contain. Since the late pasha, Mohammed 
Ali, effected the entire clearing out of the accumulated rub- 

* " Though the columns of this temple, considered singly, may be said to 
have a heavy, perhaps a barbarous appearance, the portico is doubtless a noble 
specimen of architecture ; nor is the succeeding hall devoid of beauty and 
symmetry of proportion. The preservation of its roof also adds greatly to the 
beauty as well as the interest of the portico, and many of those in the Egyptian 
temples lose their effect by being destitute of roofs. Generally speaking, 
Egyptian temples are more picturesque when in ruins than when entire; being, 
if seen from without, merely a large dead wall, scarcely relieved by a slight 
increase in the height of the portico ; but not so the portico itself ; nor did a 
temple present the same monotonous appearance when the painted sculptures 
were in their original state ; and it was the necessity of relieving the large 
expanse of flat wall that led to this rich mode of decoration."— "Hand Book for 
Egypt" p. 328. 



INTERIOR OP THE TEMPLE. 



155 



bish and dirt which had almost filled up the interior of the 
portico and rooms behind, it is not so easy as one could de- 
sire, to examine the zodiac on the ceiling of the portico. I 
shall not trouble you with the learned controversy in regard to 
this, as well as the only two other known in Egypt (at 
Esneh and the neighboring Ed-Deir) ; it is sufficient to be 
assured that the fears of some who apprehended danger to the 
authority of the Scriptures, and the exultation of others who 
imagined that here was a monument reaching back into 
almost indefinite antiquity, are equally groundless ; and so 
far from this zodiac " being of early Pharaonic time, or of an 
antediluvian age, it is (in fact) confined to the more modest 
and more probable antiquity of eighteen hundred years :" the 
same, too, is true of the other zodiacs, which are of Ptolemaic 
or Roman date. It was difficult, as I have said, to get much 
satisfaction in looking at the zodiac so far above our heads ; 
so after examining a few points with care, we searched out 
the chamber on the ceiling of which was the small plani- 
sphere, which I well recollect poring over many a time last 
summer in Paris : it has been placed in one of the lower 
rooms in the " Bibliotheque Royale ;" but its value, as is evi- 
dent from its probable date, is not very great or important. 
I do not pretend to say that it is not right to carry off objects 
of science and art from the temples and ruins of Egypt ; you 
will pardon me, however, I trust, for expressing a feeling of 
regret, which I am sure comes over almost all travellers who 
visit Egypt, that it is not possible to see everything which 
belongs to a particular edifice or locality in the place which it 
once occupied, and where its interest is a hundred-fold greater 
than when severed from its legitimate connection. How 
much to be deplored is it, that the ruler of this land has not 
the spirit and the knowledge which would prompt him to pre- 
serve the many remains of art in Egypt, and to form a grand 
museum of antiquities, unrivalled by aught which the world 
contains ! 



156 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Before leaving Dendera, I must tell you of one sculpture 
in particular, which interested me equally with every person 
who has heard the name of Egypt's beautiful but licentious 
queen. It is rather curious, and well worth a few moments' 
examination, which was all that we had time to devote to it. 
On the back wall of the exterior, we found several colossal 
figures, two of which represented the far-famed Cleopatra and 
her son Csesarion, so named from his father, Julius Caesar. 
I can hardly express my surprise that this singularly un- 
handsome figure should be meant for one whose charms of 
person were no less renowned than her seductive graces and 
brilliancy of mind. The features are heavy, and the whole 
face wears a dull and inexpressive look : if it be a portrait in 
any sense, Cleopatra could have possessed none of that striking 
beauty which all story attributes to her ; and we must sup- 
pose both that the artist never saw the queen, and that he 
possessed but little skill in representing the face and person 
of his far-famed mistress. The accompanying hastily-made 
sketch, will, I hope, enable you to form an idea of what the 
artist has done in this matter, and may also serve as a speci- 
men of the usual mode of sculpturing the human figure on 
the walls and columns of ancient Egyptian temples : my 
only objection to it is, that it is too favorable, rather than the 
reverse, and you do not in the picture feel the singular ill 
proportion to exist, to the same extent as in the colossal 
figure on the wall of the temple itself. To show you what I 
mean, let me give you the measurements which I made on 
the occasion : the feet are very flat or thin, and two feet in 
length ; the height of the figure to the top of the head is 
fourteen feet, the crown being four feet nine inches high, 
making in all eighteen feet nine inches; and yet, notwith- 
standing this, the waist is only fifteen inches ; and the legs, 
and body, as a whole, are equally thin and pinched, as it 
were, out of all fair proportion. 



CLEOPATRA, EGYPT'S QUEEN. 



157 




There are several other buildings or chapels in the im- 
mediate vicinity, at which we gave a hasty look ; but they 



158 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



do not require that I should dwell upon them at this time. 
The most curious thing, perhaps, in or about the temples, 
after what I have noted in regard to Cleopatra, are the repre- 
sentations of goddesses or mothers suckling their children ; 
generally the child sits astride the lap of the mother, and 
thus obtains nourishment from the breast ; but here I observed, 
in one instance, the mother sitting and the child standing and 
suckling, and in another, both the mother and child were 
standing, and the lips of the boy were pressed to the breast of 
his goddess-mother, in the act of drawing thence his needful 
sustenance. But of these and such-like matters, neither 
time nor space permits me to speak, in the terms which they 
really deserve. I shall therefore pass on to another point, 
which I promised to say something upon, before telling you of 
Beni-Hassan and its interesting grottoes. To be strictly 
accurate, I ought to have sent you in a previous letter an 
account of my visit to the bishop of Es-Siout ; but not having 
had a good opportunity before the present occasion, I am obliged 
to introduce it here. I trust that its interest will be none 
the less in your eyes from the fact that some weeks have 
elapsed, since I had the pleasure of seeing the diocesan of the 
capital of Upper Egypt, my interviews having taken place 
when we were going up the Nile, whereas now our faces are 
turned towards Cairo. 

It was on a Sunday afternoon that we arrived at Es-Siout, 
having been nearly three weeks in accomplishing a distance 
of two hundred and fifty-four miles. As I had been furnished 
with a letter by my highly esteemed friend and brother, the 
Rev. J. R. T. Lieder, to the Coptic bishop of Es-Siout, I em- 
braced the earliest opportunity of going ashore with our drago- 
man, to pay my respects to him, and also to present him with 
an elegant quarto copy of the Gospels in Coptic, with an 
Arabic version on the side of the page. This elaborate and 
valuable addition to the stores of Biblical literature, is mainly 
due to the learning and perseverance of the able and excellent 



THE CAPITAL OF UPPER EGYPT. 159 

missionary of the " Church Missionary Society," who has 
been many years resident in Cairo, and it has been brought out 
by the " Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," in a 
style of beauty and accuracy unsurpassed by any work of the 
present day. Besides the simple discharge of my commission 
from Mr. Lieder, I was desirous to see, and if possible learn 
something of the actual state of the Coptic Church in Upper 
Egypt, which, so far as is generally known, is in a lamentable 
state of depression and ignorance, and if we may believe the 
statements furnished to Mr. Lane, and published by him to 
the world in his "Modern Egyptians," deserves our pity in a 
degree quite equal to that bestowed upon the heathen. Very 
probably we shall know with greater accuracy the history 
and condition of this portion of the Church, when Mr. Lieder's 
labors for a number of years in this department, are brought 
to that state of advancement which will warrant publication. 

Having mounted a donkey, the principal means of locomo- 
tion in Egypt, a short ride of about two miles brought us to 
the city, which is one of the principal towns in Upper Egypt, 
and a place of considerable importance. The general appear- 
ance of things is much the same as in all oriental towns ; the 
streets, if so I may call them, are very narrow, crooked, 
winding and unpaved ; there is the same bustling and noise, 
without any particular cause, the same crowding together of 
camels, horses, donkeys, people, men, women and children, 
in one scene of confusion, which appears to disturb no one, 
but rather to be necessary to their notion of things ; there is 
the same up and down, steep places and deep holes, heaps of 
dirt and rather pretty houses, scattered here and there ; and 
the same number of dirty, fly-eaten children, with diseased 
eyes, and half-naked or wholly nude persons ; now and then 
you see a handsome minaret, an imposing tomb of some great 
man or Mohammedan saint, an attractive-looking cafe, with 
turbaned Turks smoking, and looking grave enough to be 
cogitating over the most abstruse subjects ; and you have the 



160 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



satisfaction of knowing that you are a source of great surprise 
to the passers-by, and are scrutinized in a manner which to a 
vain or conceited man might not be at all unpleasing, but 
rather the reverse. 

We alighted in the interior of the city, in front of a nonde- 
script-looking house, which might, so far as I could see, be 
used for any purpose whatever, from an Episcopal residence, 
down to a cobbler's stall. I followed Antonio through several 
dark passages, twisting about and going up and down steps 
in a way not at all agreeable, and after a while emerged into 
daylight again, and was invited to enter a room, partly 
covered overhead with matting, and closed in on one side 
with some rough boards, and having on the floor carpets and 
mats, with pillows to lean against when you had deposited 
yourself on the floor and crossed your legs under you, after 
the oriental fashion. The inmates were two venerable-look- 
ing old men, who scanned me with evident curiosity, and 
hastened to pronounce the simple but really touching eastern 
salutation, " Praise be to God, you are welcome." I be- 
stowed myself as well as I could on the floor, but our habits 
are so different, and the use of boots so interferes with the 
Eastern mode of sitting, that I cannot boast of my success ; 
nor will I sacrifice truth to politeness, by saying that I fancy 
sitting on anything but what is known to our occidental cus- 
toms. The old gentleman inquired who I was, as a matter 
of course, and one of them when he heard that I was a priest, 
rose instantly, and coming up to me made a low obeisance, 
and took my hand and kissed it with a reverential respect, 
which surprised me quite as much as it may be thought to 
have gratified me : I could observe also, that he looked at me 
with additional interest, and seemed to watch my words with 
particular care, as indeed was the case with all whom I saw 
on the present occasion. Coffee was brought, and though it 
was a rather bitter draught, I managed to swallow it, but 
when a pipe was proposed I had to beg off, by stating that 



INTERVIEW WITH THE BISHOP. 



161 



it was not the practice for priests to smoke pipes in our 
country, and so the matter was not pressed, and out of com- 
plaisance to me, none of them took their much-loved shibuk. 

In a short time the bishop, who had been sent for, arrived, 
and all rose at his entrance and saluted him with reverence, 
though not to the degree that I had looked for. He took a 
seat in one corner, and politely invited me to sit by him, as- 
suring me that I was welcome, with other complimentary 
and kind expressions. His appearance, though not striking, 
is on the whole pleasing, and not unimpressive ; imagine a, 
pleasant smile, a rather good countenance, a dress after the 
manner of the country, with dark blue turban, beard over his 
whole face, flowing robes, &c, and a person rather below the 
usual height, and you have the bishop of Es-Siout before you 
as nearly as I can describe him. Three or four priests were 
also present and joined in the conversation, which was carried 
on through Antonio, though I frequently understood their 
inquiries before translated into our dragoman's indifferent 
English, or good French. A variety of inquiries were made, 
some of them rather amusing, and showing a very limited 
knowledge on the part of the dignitaries of the Coptic Church, 
and in one or two cases not precisely the delicacy which suits 
our western ideas of propriety. For instance, after some 
general remarks on the topic of America, and the difference 
between it and Egypt, where externally the fields, and trees, 
and indeed everything indicated the summer or autumnal 
season of America, which is now suffering from the wintry 
cold and snow and ice, the bishop asked if our Sultan or 
Melik, was a Mohammedan ! On being assured that we had 
neither a king nor any of the religion of Mohammed in the 
United States, he seemed very much astonished and some- 
what incredulous, as though it were hardly possible to escape 
Turkish domination, or live without a king to rule and 
govern the country. On my asking in general respecting 
the churches in Es-Siout, the bishop did not appear to have 



162 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



any clear information ; he said that there were two or three 
in the city, and about six thousand Coptic Christians ; but I 
imagine that no great reliance can be placed upon the num- 
ber of Christians under a state of things like that in Egypt, 
where it is impossible to tell what the population amounts to, 
since even the absolute power of Mohammed Ali did not suf- 
fice to obtain a census of the people. As a finishing speech, 
the bishop asked if I had not something to give for the Coptic 
Church, and indeed on several occasions he pressed the matter 
in a way which we should think anything but polite or 
proper to a stranger or brother clergyman. Antonio was 
quite unwilling to tell me exactly the terms of this and other 
requests, but I am sure they were plain enough, and were I 
disposed to condemn indiscriminately, would afford ground 
for the charge of that mercenary and selfish spirit which is 
usually affixed to the name of Copt in Egypt. As it was 
getting late, I assured the bishop that I would have the pleas- 
ure of seeing him in the morning, and of bringing with me 
the present which Mr. Lieder had kindly intrusted to my 
care, and an appointment was made for "three o'clock," i. e. 
between eight and nine, A. M., according to our mode of 
reckoning time. A gentle pressure of the hand, some words 
of blessing on his part, and the motions usual in the East at 
meeting and parting, when the hand is put to the heart or 
breast, and to the forehead, with an inclination towards the 
person saluted, and my visit was concluded. As I rode back 
to the boat, and rested for some little time on the bank, gaz- 
ing at the lovely scene, the beautiful lines of Kirke White 
came into my thoughts, and I repeated them with more than 
ordinary enthusiasm : 

" How beautiful upon the element 

The Egyptian moonlight sleeps ! 
The Arab on the bank hath pitched his tent ; 

The light wave dances, sparkling o'er the deeps; 
The tall reeds whisper in the gale, 
And o'er the distant tide moves slow the silent sail." 



DESCRIPTION OF A COPTIC CHURCH. 163 

In the morning, accompanied by the other gentlemen in 
the " Ibis," I called again on the bishop, and presented the 
elegant volume containing the Gospels, as before stated. 
He thanked me for it, but not very heartily, and immediately 
after asked if I had not some books in Arabic to give him ! 
He talked of sending us a sheep, but that was mere compli- 
ment, and meant nothing, since on our thanking him nothing 
further was said or done in the matter ; we had to return the 
compliment, however, by sending something from the boat, 
which was done, and was, we learned, very acceptable. The 
usual formalities of coffee handed, &c, were gone through 
with, and some general conversation carried on which it is not 
worth while to record; but as I was curious to see a Coptic 
church, the bishop was kind enough to offer to show me the 
principal one in the city, and rose to lead the way. 

The church was near at hand : a few turnings through 
narrow passages and we entered the door of a building in no 
wise to be distinguished from others externally, and with 
hardly anything which we should consider meet and proper 
for the temple of the Lord our God. Let me try in few 
words to give you an idea of a Coptic church. The entire 
area devoted to the church was large, and appeared to me 
nearly square ; the walls were plain, and the ceiling, whence 
the light was obtained, was some forty feet high. There are 
three divisions of the space thus appropriated, and they do not 
differ much in extent ; the first portion is for the congregation 
in general, and is separated from the adjoining space by a 
partition of open wood work about ten feet high; the 
second compartment is appropriated to the priests, who read 
the lessons, &c, to their assistants in performing divine ser- 
vice, and to some of the higher classes of the members of the 
church ; the third portion, which is the smallest, is screened 
from the rest of the church by a partition of rather elaborate 
inlaid work, having small openings or holes at intervals per- 
haps a foot in diameter, and a door usually covered by a cur- 



164 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tain. This compartment contains the altar and sacred vessels, 
and here, it appears, only the Coptic language is allowed to 
be used, which is explained in Arabic to the people by the 
priests outside. No furniture of any kind was in the church, 
no seats, or aught save a rude stand containing the copy of 
the Scriptures in MSS., from which the bishop or priest 
reads ; I saw, however, a number of crutches hanging in the 
holes of the partition, which the people, who stand during a 
great part of the service, are allowed to use for a support. 
On the floor were mats, and I noticed that the persons who 
accompanied the bishop, together with himself, laid aside their 
slippers, and walked without shoes during the whole time we 
were in the church. Attached to the walls were several 
wretchedly executed paintings of the Virgin Mary and the 
infant Saviour, and — what may appear rather curious — the 
legendary story of which we all have heard often enough, that 
of St. George and the Dragon. An old chandelier, and 
some other contrivances for lighting the church at night, a 
small bell or two for various parts of the service, and curtains 
for covering the pictures of the blessed Virgin and St. George, 
comprise about all which it is needful to specify, in order to 
render intelligible what I would describe. Of the, two other 
churches, which are close by, and partly under the one above 
spoken of, I need not say anything, as they offer no peculiari- 
ties at which I have not glanced already. Being much older, 
they were less clean and neat than the one which the present 
bishop has built, and which he took some laudable pride in 
showing to us; they have, too, in greater abundance, that 
active little animal the pulex, to whose propensities I believe 
that no one who has ever been in a church or convent in the 
East, has long remained a stranger. Leaving the church we 
were courteously invited to sit again, but as our time was 
limited we were obliged to decline, and making our adieus 
we left the bishop of Es-Siout and his clergy with feelings of 
kindness and respect, not unmingled with disappointment. 



RISHOP OF ESNEH STABL ANTAR. 



165 



I may mention here, as connected with the same subject, 
though occurring some days afterwards, that I had the pleas- 
ure of calling upon the bishop of Esneh with a letter from Mr. 
Lieder. He received me with great kindness and courtesy, 
was very much pleased with the present which I had brought, 
and appeared to be deeply interested in the cause to which 
his life is devoted. Personally his appearance and address 
are more striking than those of the bishop of Es-Siout, and 
from considerable intercourse with him, both at home and 
afterwards at Luxor, I should be disposed to think highly of 
his intellectual capacity and his general information. His 
character, too, as an energetic and faithful bishop — I mean 
of course to the extent of his knowledge of the truth — stands 
high among those who are competent to judge, and disposed 
to judge fairly. By his invitation, I visited some of the 
churches in Esneh; but as they do not offer anything special 
or different from those already spoken of, I need not detain 
you with any attempt to describe them. 

As our reis had chosen Es-Siout as the place where he 
would bake bread for his crew's supply, we had the rest of 
the day before us, to spend in any way we chose. Accord- 
ingly we concluded to visit the grottoes cut in the limestone 
rock near the modern town, of which Sir Gardner Wilkinson 
gives a full and accurate account. We rode out of the town 
on donkeys, in a southwesterly direction, passed through sev- 
eral beautifully green fields, crossed over a canal intended 
for irrigation, by means of a rather large and well-built stone 
bridge, and in about half an hour came to the foot of the 
lofty hill, called by the modern Egyptians Stabl Antar. We 
climbed up the steep sides of the hill for about two-thirds of 
the way, when we were gratified by a sight of the porch or 
entrance-chamber, which is cut out of the limestone rock, 
and open to the air. It is this chamber of which M. De- 
non speaks in glowing terms, declaring " that all the elegan- 
cies of ornament, which the Greeks have employed in their 



166 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



architecture ; all the wavy lines and scrolls, and other Greek 
forms, are here executed with taste and exquisite delicacy."* 
The inner rooms are large, and deeply interesting to the anti- 
quarian ; the roofs are adorned with paintings, the colors of 
which can even yet be tolerably well distinguished, and on 
the walls are many hieroglyphics, some of them of consider- 
able importance. Of course it would be quite out of the 
question, for me to pretend to speak fully of these curious 
catacombs ;. at most, I can but hope to convey to you some 
faint idea of a high hill, which has been cut into in hundreds 
of places, and is so full of grottoes and smaller excavations, 
that it is pronounced by Denon cavernous, and is said to 
resound under the foot. We made our way through the sand 
and rubbish, into many of the inner chambers, and saw 
evidences of mummy remains, not only of human beings, but 
of wolves, which latter circumstance is in accordance with 
the fact, that the ancient city was called Lycopolis, " the city 
of wolves," and that that animal was held sacred by its inhabi- 
tants. Perhaps the most interesting thing to a Christian, in 
connection with these catacombs, is the fact, that they were 
once used as the abodes of the persecuted and despised fol- 
lowers of the cross, and at a later period became the favorite 
haunts of monks and anchorites. Egypt, as you well know, 
was the original home of monasticism, and from it spread a 
system, which had its advantages to a certain extent, but 
which very soon became corrupted and abused in the most 
lamentable manner. Probably, as Wilkinson suggests, it was 
from one of these tombs that John of Lycopolis gave his orac- 
ular answer to the embassy of the Emperor Theodosius, a 
circumstance which afforded Gibbon an opportunity to relate 
the story in his usual style of affected respect, but of real 
insult to Christianity.! As I stood, looking down from 
the summit of the hill, upon the city of Es-Siout, and during 

* Russell's "Ancient and Modern Egypt," p. 211. 

■f See Gibbon's " Decline and Fall" &c, vol. ii. p. 179, Am. Ed. 1841. 

6 



GROTTOES OP BENI-HASSAN. 167 

our ride back to the boat, these things afforded abundant food 
for reflection. 

It is not without hesitation that I venture at this point, 
having already occupied you a long time, to speak of the 
caves or grottoes of Beni-Hassan. Deeply interesting as they 
are, in connection with a question which Sir G. "Wilkinson dis- 
cusses with great good sense, and respecting which he draws 
a conclusion different from what we might have hoped the 
evidence would furnish, it may not, perhaps, be wise to intro- 
duce any account of them at the end of a letter ; and I assure 
you, were I about to consult the taste of persons in general, 
I should omit, until another opportunity, all mention of Beni- 
Hassan and its catacombs. But with you, my dear S., I feel 
that I may take this liberty, and may beg that the indulgence 
which has so often been granted, may again be extended to 
me on the present occasion. It will be my aim to be as con- 
cise as I can, and, at the same time, as particular as my 
limited space will allow. 

These grottoes or caves are perfectly accessible from the 
river at this period, when the water is low, though at the 
same time, it involves the necessity of a walk, rather long for 
comfort, under a hot sun, and rather toilsome for such per- 
sons as myself, who feel the labor of climbing a steep ascent. 
I was struck with the appearance which the large boulders, 
which lie scattered round on the side of the hill or mountain, 
present, in contrast with the usual absence of everything of the 
kind in the valley of the Nile. Wilkinson terms them calcare- 
ous, and says that they are full of shells, containing much silex, 
very heavy and hard, and externally of a dark-brown color. 
He also expresses the opinion, that probably these large stones 
were once in horizontal beds, like flints in chalk, and that 
the decay of the stratum in which they lie, has in many 
places disengaged them ; — an opinion which is, no doubt, 
correct. On reaching an elevation of about eighty feet above 
the river, we came to the entrances of the'caves which front 



168 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND, 

i 

toward the Nile, and are excavated in the side of the moun- 
tain, at about one- third below its top. Their general charac- 
ter is simple enough ; usually you enter a square or oblong 
chamber, say twenty or twenty-five feet long, and perhaps 
fifteen feet high. In many cases, the walls are rough and 
unornamented ; in others they have been adorned with great 
care and skill. In nearly all very deep pits are seen, in which 
the mummies were deposited, but which have been rifled of 
their contents. Several of the caves have columns, both in 
front and in the interior ; and in some instances I observed 
niches or recesses opposite the door or main entrance, where 
the figures or sculptures of the triad worshipped here, were 
placed. 

We spent considerable time in examining the various se- 
pulchral chambers, which so many centuries ago were hollowed 
out of the solid rock, for the purpose to which they were de- 
voted. Several of the more northerly ones are disfigured by 
childish scrawls made by the ignorant Arabs, and nearly all 
of them bear the marks of that mania for recording names, 
which is so prevalent among travellers in general. Most of 
the grottoes which we visited are adorned with paintings on 
the walls, and various hieroglyphical inscriptions, which throw 
light, not only upon the date of their excavation, but also 
upon numerous interesting points, in regard to the manners 
and customs of the ancient Egyptians. Some of these paint- 
ings are in excellent style, the colors being still good, and do 
credit to the artist, quite as much so as anything which we have 
seen in Egypt, not even excepting the tombs at Thebes. In 
one place we saw the ancient gymnastic exercises, represented 
with much spirit ; in another we beheld a hunting scene, in 
all its details, and, with the single failure of perspective, as 
life-like as many a modern painting. Here we looked upon 
the peaceful occupations of the husbandman ; there we saw 
the administration of justice, and the bastinado being inflicted 
upon men and even women, the latter in a sitting posture, 



INTERESTING GROTTO. 



169 



and beaten upon the shoulders instead of the feet. Now, the 
artist presents before us the various exciting scenes of war, 
and now, the more agreeable domestic avocations of every-day 
life : the scribes register for their master the accounts of his 
estates, and present them with the vouchers to him whom they 
serve : the women play on the harp, or they are engaged in pre- 
paring bread and delicacies : the servants are occupied in catch- 
ing fish in nets, or in snaring birds and wild fowl, or in mana- 
ging boats on the Nile, or something of the kind, which tends to 
illustrate many of the multifarious occupations of the ancient 
Egyptians, not far from four thousand years ago. I suppose, 
in all, we visited about fifteen, or perhaps more of these grot- 
toes, and witnessed in them the variety of scenes, to which I 
have alluded, thrown together, so far as I could judge, without 
any particular connection, and representing such matters, and 
in such order, as either the artist or his employer chose, or as 
their respective fancies dictated. But it would be useless to 
attempt a detailed account of all that we beheld: I shall 
therefore, with your permission, speak of only one of these 
caves, which, for a reason presently to be stated, does not 
yield in interest to any of the monumental wonders of the 
land of the Pharaohs. 

In front are two polygonal columns, cut out of the moun- 
tain's side, and appearing, as Wilkinson phrases it, to be " the 
prototype of the Doric shaft." As nearly as I could obtain 
the measurements, they are nine and a half feet in circum- 
ference, and about fifteen feet in height, slightly decreasing 
in thickness towards the upper end of the shaft, and crowned 
with an abacus, exceeding but little the summit of the column. 
The doorway or entrance is large, and only a few feet from 
the columns in front ; it is covered with hieroglyphics, both 
in front and on its sides. The chamber itself I found to be 
nearly forty feet square, with a recess or niche opposite the 
doorway : there are four large columns, with sixteen sides 
or faces, similar to those just spoken of, placed at even dis- 

8 



170 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tances, and supporting the ceiling, which is vaulted between 
the architraves, and ornamented in a manner, which is, even 
at this remote period, striking to a high degree. The ceiling 
is about twenty feet high in the most elevated parts: the 
columns, I ought to mention, are, according to the Egyptian 
custom, painted or stained with a reddish color, in imitation 
of granite,^ and might readily deceive a cursory observer, 
On the walls are numerous paintings, representing scenes, in 
^oneral like those alluded to above : the figures of the men, it 
struck me, were frequently badly proportioned, and stiff and 
unnatural in many instances, the arms, particularly, being 
extravagantly long, and out of shape. Most of the animals 
are well represented ; and the fish on the wall opposite the 
doorway, are decidedly superior to anything which I have 
seen in Egypt ; they would not discredit even some of our 
present artists. 

It is a question of some moment, in connection with this 
grotto, which may easily be distinguished by the fish, painted 
on the wall opposite the entrance, to ascertain to whom we 
are to refer the procession of strangers, represented on the 
upper part of the north wall. It has been supposed, that as 
these caves were made in the time of Osirtasen, during whose 
reign, it is thought by some writers of eminence, Joseph came 
into Egypt, the persons here set before our eyes might be Jo- 
seph's brethren, and that thus we might have one of the 
most authentic and most deeply, interesting mementoes, of an 
age fraught with importance to the chosen people. Of course, 
I do not feel myself competent to decide in a case of so much 

* " All the caves of Beni-Hassan are ornamented with colored figures, or 
other ornamental devices ; and the columns, with the lower part of the walls, 
in the northern grottoes, are stained of a red color to resemble granite, in order 
to give them an appearance of greater solidity. These imitations of hard stone 
and rare wood, were very commonly practised by the Egyptians, though it is 
a singular fact that granite and other stone used in their monuments, being 
generally colored, could not be distinguished." — "Hand Book for Egypt" 
p. 294. 



JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 



171 



consequence, nor in the present state of hieroglyphical learn- 
ing and research into Egyptian history and antiquity, do I see 
how the objections of Sir G. Wilkinson to this view can be 
answered. He informs us that the hieroglyphics above these 
strangers, represent them as " captives ;" that they have the 
number " 37" written over them; that the person who should 
be Joseph, in case it were a representation of the scene sup- 
posed, has a name totally unlike his Egyptian name, " Zaph- 
nath Paaneah," and is styled in hieroglyphics, " Nefothph," 
or " Nehoth ;" and finally, that the names of the father and 
mother of this individual are too distinctly specified to admit 
the claims of Joseph. These appear to me fatal objections, 
and though it is not impossible that they may all be answered, 
and this grotto may, after all, assume an importance, which 
a settlement of the question in the way desired, would confer 
upon it, I dare not believe that I have, indeed, looked upon 
a picture so touchingly attractive as this would be, were it 
really the representation of the meeting of Joseph with his 
brethren. It is true, however, that I gazed upon these an- 
cient paintings with an interest too deep for words: and it 
was not for a considerable time after my companions had left, 
and had called me to come with them, that I could consent 
to turn away from this grotto, and look no more upon what 
may be, perhaps is, connected so intimately with the history 
of the great and good Joseph. You will allow me, I doubt 
not, as a fitting conclusion, to refer you to the sentiments of 
two eminent living writers, whose spirit of reverence for Holy 
Scripture cannot be too highly commended in these rational- 
istic days : " I do not pretend," says Wilkinson, in reference 
to the question of who these strangers were, " to decide, nor 
do I see sufficient reason for supposing them to represent that 
event (viz., the arrival of Joseph's brethren) ; but should this 
ever prove to be the case, they will be looked upon with un- 
bounded interest, and be justly deemed the most curious 
painting on the Egyptian monuments." The learned W. 



172 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Osburn devotes several pages to this interesting tomb or grotto, 
which he calls " the tomb of Pihrai," a person who held a high 
military office, in the reign of Osirtasen I. This monarch's 
reign " belongs to the time of Abraham or thereabouts." The 
learned author's view of the signification of the painting on 
the walls, is well expressed in few words : — " "Without enter- 
ing at all into the various conjectures which have been haz- 
arded, as to the nation to which these captives belonged, we 
at once adopt the plain indication of the text, and assume, 
that it represents the tribe or clan of the Jebusites, who, 
subdued by the prowess of Pihrai, had sent an embassy to 
Egypt, to solicit peace."*' 

With these remarks, I must bid adieu to the various topics 
which have occupied my letters for some time past : it will 
be my design next to address you from the metropolis of Egypt, 
and to speak of those things which relate to the living rather 
than the dead, and which, just at this time, have an import- 
ance far beyond any previous period in their history. 

* Osbum's " Ancient Egypt, her Testimony to the Truth of the Bible" 
p. 37-43. 



LETTER IX. 

Promise to be Fulfilled.— Scenes during a Day from the Window of our Hotel— Variety, Pe- 
culiarity, and Strangeness of everything. — Noise and Confusion. — A Walk in the Streets and 
Lanes.— Coptic Quarter— A Cairene House.— View from the Roof.— The Bazaars.— Process 
of Buying a Garment.— Cries of the Metropolis. 

Cairo, Feb. 24th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

You will recollect that in a former letter dated from 
Cairo, I ventured to promise at a subsequent period, some- 
thing of a lengthened and connected description of the me- 
tropolis and its many objects of interest. I was then hardly- 
aware what such a promise might lead you to expect, or 
what a serious task I had imposed upon myself by this un- 
dertaking ; and perhaps were I wise, or duly sensible of my 
inefficiency to add novelty or interest to topics already so 
fully, ably, and accurately dealt with by Mr. Lane, in his 
admirable volumes on the " Modern Egyptians," 1 should 
beg you to pardon me for not keeping my promise, and refer 
you to Mr. Lane's work, as calculated to afford you entire 
satisfaction. Yet, nevertheless, so perverse is human nature 
— especially the nature of letter- writers — that I am foolish 
enough to persuade myself that you would hardly be content 
were I to take such a course, and that having become ac- 
customed ' to my freedom of speech in regard to Egypt in 
general, you would rather like, than otherwise, to know what 
my impressions are in regard to the metropolis. If it be true. 



174 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



however, that I have deceived myself, and that you prefer the 
excellent and complete description of Mr. Lane's, to the ram- 
bling and often dull remarks of mine on these topics, I give 
you full liberty to pass over the whole, and to leave me to 
suffer the just punishment of my presumption. 

Let me first invite you, if you will, to imagine yourself stand- 
ing at the window of my room, and gazing upon the panorama 
which constantly passes before your eyes. Yon are looking out 
upon the Ezbekiyeh, a large park or plat of ground, planted with 
trees and arranged into walks : it is irregular in shape, being 
about half a mile in extent either way, and as you see, it winds, 
as it were, for a considerable distance, both right and left ; the 
flowers and fruit trees, and the shady walks, make it a de- 
lightful place of resort for those who are fatigued or annoyed 
with the bustling, noisy streets. In former times this whole 
space was a lake, during the season of the high Nile ; but a 
large canal which surrounds it, and at present is, as you see, 
dry, has drained it, and not only removed a disagreeable pool 
of stagnant water, but furnished to the Cairenes a beautiful 
public square and garden. Our street is one of the few wide 
enough for vehicles of any size to pass and repass, and 
most of the hotels for foreigners are collected together in 
this locality. You will readily see how great an amount of 
travel on foot and on horseback, on donkeys and in carriages, 
must here take place during the day. 

Well, then, very early in the morning, the donkey boys 
assemble with their useful steeds on the opposite side of the 
street, and keep a sharp lookout upon the doors and windows 
of the hotel ; every once in a while they make their selamat 
(the usual " how-d'ye-do,") to me, or some other passenger 
who has patronized them the day before, and endeavor to pre- 
vail upon me to engage for an indefinite period an animal 
which has perhaps shaken me almost to death, or — as on one 
occasion — precipitated me over his head, or has other and 
equally valuable qualities. Near by, under the same trees 



SCENES IX THE STREETS OF CAIRO. 



where they keep themselves, is a fellahah, squatted on some 
stones, with large trays of dates spread out before her ; she 
appears to have one of the ugliest faces which is to be met 
with in the streets, and just in this proportion does she seem 
to be careful to cover it up with her dirty "burko,'' or face- 
veil. Nevertheless she has her customers, and the palatable, 
cheap fruit which Egypt furnishes in such abundance, en- 
ables many a fellah and poor boy to enjoy himself at a very 
small cost. At this hour, too, one of the hard-working and 
poorly-paid water carriers,, with a very large goat skin full of 
water, goes to and fro in front of the hotel, and liberally 
dashes its contents upon the dusty street, so that instead of 
dust you have now mud. a choice of evils, but which is to be 
preferred I can hardly say. even after having effectually tried 
both. 

As by the requirements of their religion the Mohammedans 
are early risers, so that they may say the appointed morning 
prayers, you perceive that many persons are astir before you 
have breakfasted, and that business of various sorts begins to be 
transacted at seven and eight o'clock in the morning. Now, 
comes ambling by on a donkey, a Coptic Christian, distinguished 
by his deep blue or black turban, and hastening to his daily oc- 
cupation: like most of his brethren, he appears to be a scribe, 
for stuck in his girdle is the dawayeh, or oriental inkstand 
and receptacle for reed pens, and under his arm or in his 
hand are some paper and blank books for present use. Now, 
a fat, lazy-looking Turk rides along, at a slow pace, casting 
looks of scorn or contempt upon the peasantry and others 
whom he meets or passes, and doubtless on his way to some 
greater man than himself, to whom he can and will cringe 
and bow with all that servility which renders the Eastern 
character so often despicable in our western eyes. Now, others 
of all classes, ages, sexes, and colors, from the deepest black 
to the palest white, pass our window : some have turbans of 
manifold colors, red, white, black, parti-colored, &c. Some 



176 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



wear dresses of different descriptions, half Turkish, half 
Egyptian, partly Frank, partly Greek, some English, some 
French, more nondescript : here are women in veils and 
drawers, with yellow boots and slippers ; there are women 
without covering to the face, with bare feet and legs, and 
having only a blue shirt of cotton ; and mingled with all are 
boys and girls, dogs and donkeys, camels and horses, carts 
and carriages, sheep and goats, the gaudy splendor of some 
government officer and the ragged penury and filth of some 
miserable fellah, the concubines and wives of the rich man, 
astride of asses and guarded by eunuchs, and the half-naked, 
peasant woman seated in like manner upon her load of vege- 
tables, a plentiful supply of importunate beggars* — and many 
such-like curious sights. 

As the morning advances, the scene changes somewhat ; 
frequently you see Europeans in the street, moving about 
with all that freedom and utter indifference to the liking or 
disliking of the Turks and others, which characterize them : 
as they do not understand, so they do not care for the mut- 
tered imprecations which are every now and then bestowed 
upon them by some bigoted Mohammedan, who only wants 

* The cries of the beggars who frequent the streets and frequently grow rich 
by the trade are curious enough, -and well worth quoting, as illustrative of the 
extent to which the Mohammedans bring religion to bear on nearly all subjects, 
whether appropriate or not : " Among the most common cries are — ' O exciter of 
compassion ! O Lord !' — ' For the sake of God ! ye charitable !' — ' I am seek- 
ing from my Lord a cake of bread !' — ' how bountiful Thou art ! O Lord !' — 
1 1 am the guest of God and the Prophet !'— in the evening, ' My supper must 
be Thy gift ! Lord !'— on the eve of Friday, ' The night of the excellent 
Friday !'— and on Friday, £ The excellent day of Friday !'— One who daily 
passed my door used to exclaim, ' Place Chy reliance upon God ! There is none 
but God !' and another, a woman, I now hear crying, 1 My supper must be Thy 
gift ! O Lord ! from the hand of a bountiful believer, a testifier of the unity of 
God ! O masters !' — The answers which beggars generally receive (for they are 
so numerous that a person cannot give to all who ask of him) are ' God help 
thee !'— ' God will sustain !'— ' God give thee !' — ' God content, or enrich, thee !' 
— They are not satisfied by any denial but one implied by these or similar an- 
swers." — Lane's " Modern Egyptians" vol. ii. p. 28. 



NOISE AND CONFUSION. 



177 



the opportunity to use fire and sword with as great fury as 
was ever done by any of the followers of the Arabian impos- 
tor. 

About mid-day, a tremendous cracking of a whip by a 
groom on foot, and an unceremonious dispersion of the people 
on all sides, announce the approach of some one greater than 
ordinary ; see, now : horsemen in elegant or showy trappings, 
with various appurtenances of a magnate's public appearance, 
are prancing slowly by ; next comes a carriage and six, with 
the pasha inside, who bestows occasionally a nod or some- 
thing of the sort upon the passers-by ; following his carriage 
are a number of horsemen and others who form his suite ; 
and these, as well as himself, require the utmost deference 
and respect, and while the whole cavalcade is going by, no 
one must dare to get in the way or move out of his appointed 
place ; for, as you well know, it only requires a significant 
motion of the pasha's eye or hand to dispose of any unlucky 
fellow's head, or appropriate his heels to the horrible bastinado 
— such is the despotism of Egypt ! Occasionally, too, other 
carriages, preceded in the same way by a groom, running 
ahead with a large whip, pass our window, and by the show 
which they make give the beholders an idea of the conse- 
quence which belongs to the respective consuls and consuls- 
general of foreign powers ; or impress the common people 
with a salutary reverence for some of the pasha's officers who 
move to and fro in these novel vehicles. Listen, for a moment : 
what an uproar and disturbance in the street ; what furious 
gestures, what shouting and screaming, what fast talking and 
fiery war of words ; — and what do you suppose it is all about ? 
Why, not a revolution, not a shouting for " equal rights," or 
" down with the pasha," but nothing more nor less than 
which one of the donkeys or boys shall gain possession of a 
Frank who has just appeared at the door of the hotel ; see 
what a crowd gathers round him ; now he is pushed toward 
one, now another : now he is nearly lifted by main force upon 

8* 



178 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



a donkey, and now some opposition brute is all but thrust 
betwixt his legs ; this boy shouts, that half-grown man 
screams, another praises the saddle of his donkey, a fourth 
beseeches the gentleman to try his beast, a fifth falls foul of 
number two, a sixth begins to belabor number three and his 
donkey — and so they go on, talking all known languages, and 
several that are not known, until the poor European at last 
gets on to one of the steeds, and the tempest subsides, only 
to be renewed again at the first opportunity. 

As the day wanes, similar scenes are enacted ; the streets 
present the same appearance of crowding and jostling ; of 
threading one's way amid camels, with heavy, wide-spreading 
loads, and donkeys with panniers filled with stones or vege- 
tables, or laden with water-skins or great bundles of grass ; 
of escaping from being run down by a horse, and narrowly 
missing being crushed by a cart against the side of a house ; 
of pushing your neighbor out of the way, and being as uncer- 
emoniously used by some one else ; and such-like. Just lis- 
ten to the donkey -boys, as they beat their little brutes, and 
warn pedestrians to get out of the way : ' yemeenak ! shi- 
malakP (to thy right! to thy left!) 'dahrakP (thy back!) 
i wishshak /' (thy face!) ' gembakV (thy side!) '•riglakV (thy 
foot !) kaabak P (thy heel !) Hear them call out to a Turk, 
'•sakin V (take care !) to a Frank, 6 ya khaivageh V to some 
poor woman, 6 ya bint V (' daughter' or ' girl'), to an old man, 
-ya sheikh V etc., etc.* The street is full, very full, as it 
would seem, having no sidewalks to protect the pedestrian, 
but all being in common ; the various classes, ages, and sexes 
use such part or parts of the street as they can find ; and it 
is wonderful to notice how seldom an accident happens, how 
unfrequently any one is hurt, how well, on the whole, every- 
body manages to get along, and both to give and receive his 
or her share of jostling and pushing, without offence meant 
or taken. 

* Lane's '•'■Modern Egyptians" vol. i. p. 209. 



PECULIARITIES OF EASTERN CITIES. 



179 



Towards evening the scene changes again, and as night 
draws on, the donkey-boys, the old woman with her dates, 
the venders of other articles of food, the idlers and loungers, 
the dogs and monkeys with their masters, and the whole tribe 
of street walkers and travellers, gradually retire, and the 
thoroughfares become vacant and lonely. In the hours of 
darkness, hardly a person can be found or seen in the busy 
avenue in front of our hotel ; occasionally one passes by with 
a lantern in hand, to save him from harm in picking his way 
where no light is furnished by the authorities ; and during 
the evening and night, naught else is seen, and scarcely any- 
thing is heard, save the annoying bark of some mongrel 
curs, who thus take glorious revenge for your contempt of 
their prowess during the day. 

Perhaps this may answer for a rude sketch of what is 
daily to be seen from my window : it would afford you, how- 
ever, but a very imperfect view of what the streets of Cairo 
are in general, or of what this large city contains, were we 
to stop here, without penetrating into some of the recesses 
which give a special character to oriental towns. You well 
recollect, I doubt not, that eastern cities have many features 
in common with one another ; and, unlike what prevails in 
the West, the streets or lanes are very narrow, winding, 
unpaved, uneven, and dirty to an extreme : the houses are 
built to suit the climate and the religion of the people, and 
externally have hardly a single mark of beauty or good taste ; 
excepting, always, many of the projecting lattice windows, 
which are often very pretty. Heaps and mounds of rubbish 
meet the visitor at various points ; and he is both astonished 
and annoyed at finding such things in the heart of a great 
city, almost as a matter of course. The places of business 
and trade are in various quarters, and are styled bazaars, 
where articles of all sorts are sold ; and the merchants spend 
their time, with pipe in hand, chatting with a customer, dis- 
playing their goods, and, sitting with their legs drawn under 



180 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



them, lead a life of indolence and inactivity. These and 
other characteristics of the same kind, belong to nearly all 
oriental towns, and are more or less familiar to every one who 
has taken any interest in Eastern matters. It needs not, 
therefore, that I should enlarge upon these things in general ; 
but I am sure that you will find something to amuse you in 
the streets and bazaars, during the walks that I propose you 
should take with me in Cairo. Let us sally out, then, in good 
season, and take a look at some of the many strange and 
curious things, to be seen in the streets and lanes of the me- 
tropolis. 

Turning to the right, as we leave the Hotel d'Europe, we soon 
arrive at another quarter of the town. We enter through a 
large door, which at night is shut and guarded, and find our- 
selves in a narrow, crooked lane, hardly wide enough to pass 
any one on a donkey, and having a gloomy appearance and a 
damp atmosphere. It is the Copt quarter where we are : the 
Jewish quarter we shall find to be much worse ; and the 
Turkish a very great deal better. Observe the change in the 
streets : here they are about five or six feet wide, and some- 
times much less ; and the little shops on either side, with the 
women squatted in the midst of their dates, or vegetables, or 
groceries ; the men shouting forth their articles of trade ; the 
children playing under foot ; the slippery mud and filth in 
which we are treading, impress one very singularly, and far 
from pleasantly. One does not wonder that plague, cholera, 
and pestilence in general rage in Cairo. The only surprise 
to those educated in the belief that cleanliness of person and 
habitation, and the circulation of pure air, are essential to 
the health of the community, is, that the plague should ever 
leave such a fair field for its operations as this ; or that the 
cholera and pestilential fevers should not sweep away the 
whole population, during the period of their ravages. Notice 
how scant is the supply of light, though it is noon-day, and 
the sun is shining in all its vigor. The interior of the petty 



LANES AND BY-PATHS IN CAIRO. 



181 



shops are quite dark, and it is not without difficulty that you 
can distinguish any objects at all. If you look upward for a 
moment, you discover that it is not altogether the narrowness 
of the street or lane which causes this sort of twilight ; for 
there you see how the windows and upper stories, in many 
cases, project beyond the perpendicular, for two feet or more 
on both sides of the passage, which, of course, diminishes the 
space so much, that neither the sun nor the light can pene- 
trate with any great effect. We leave this lane at this point, 
and turn down another, which, amusingly enough called 
''Broadway," goes at one time under portions of houses, and 
is quite dark ; and at another becomes quite wide, i. e., some 
seven or eight feet, which appears well by contrast. Now we 
see houses in ruins, and the rubbish in the middle of the 
street, as is sometimes the case in our part of the world. 
Now we pass along, without meeting a single individual ; 
now we meet a crowd of boys and donkeys ; a number of 
veiled objects, which appear to be of all colors and ages ; and 
a string of camels, with immense loads, which require the 
pedestrian to take shelter in a doorway, or where he best may, 
to avoid being crushed, as they stalk slowly by. And thus 
we continue, turning in and out, up and down, meeting all 
sorts of curious things, coming in contact with all classes, 
from the gaudily dressed lady, wacfdling along in silks, to the 
most miserable fellah woman, with scarcely half a blue shirt 
to cover her nakedness, and with a child devoid of clothing: 
astride of her shoulder. And though, at times, in crowds and 
thoroughly jostled, yet often we are quite alone, and surprised 
to see how few people are in the streets and lanes of the city. 

But let us enter a house ; it is the mansion of a dear friend, 
yet in nearly all respects is like other houses in Cairo. At 
the door, or just inside, stands the porter who admits us. 
You see there is a small court, which in many cases is much 
larger, and has a well and some other things in it ; but as 
yet there is no appearance of life or of inmates, and only 



182 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



blank walls and an earthen floor, which do not seem to pro- 
mise much. We follow the sober Arab, who moves at just 
such a pace, and rejoices in the name of Musa, and he leads 
us up a staircase of stone steps, which wind at every third or 
fourth step during the whole ascent : it is lighted from above, 
being open to the sky. By and by, we get to the third story, 
as we should call it, and leaving the stairs enter a broad 
space paved with stone, and having doors leading to rooms on 
either hand, and those again connected with others on the 
same floor. In this particular house, there are various things 
which indicate European habits and tastes : the drawing 
room is furnished with chairs, and has a carpet on the floor, 
together with many objects which could only interest a 
Christian and a lover of English literature ; and the various 
other rooms, while oriental to some extent, still show that 
habit is a strong thing, and that our customs may not easily 
be dispensed with ; but in general, as you will notice in other 
houses where eastern manners are adopted, the rooms are not 
at all furnished in this way ; the stone floor is covered, some- 
times only in part, with plain white matting, and at one end 
of the apartment, which is nearly square, is a long and broad 
diwan, raised about six inches above the floor, reaching en- 
tirely across the room, ano^ having pillows against which to 
recline. Very few articles of any kind are to be seen, seldom 
a chair, usually a small table or escritoire ; but very seldom 
is there an approach to the profusion of furniture which 
characterizes our parlors and drawing rooms ; and at first one 
cannot but feel that it is cheerless and uncomfortable ; but 
use, and the necessity of studying how best to pass the hot 
season, accustom one soon to these changes. You will no- 
tice, too, in the house where we are, that there is no harim, 
and of course no portion of it set aside as forbidden to any 
but the husband and female visitors ; in others, where Euro- 
peans choose to adopt this custom likewise, the apartments 
of the women form an important portion of the house — a por- 



VIEW FROM THE HOUSE-TOP. 



183 



tion, which, as you know, I have never seen, and cannot 
therefore describe from personal observation, but which 
several writers have admirably treated of, particularly some 
of the ladies who have visited Egypt, and have favored the 
world with the result of their intercourse with eastern fe- 
males. 

While here, it is worth our while to mount still higher, 
and from the flat roof or terrace, to observe what an appear- 
ance Cairo presents. A similar winding staircase leads to 
this attractive spot, as the citizens usually esteem it ; for 
here in the cool of the morning and evening, they love to as- 
semble and enjoy the delightful breezes which refresh and in- 
vigorate the wearied body and jaded spirits ; here they have 
their pipes and coffee, and reclining on their diwan or carpets, 
spend hours in contemplation or cheerful conversation, as 
best suits their taste. Look now at the unique scene which 
lies before you ; in the distance you see the lofty pyramids of 
Gizeh, those mighty monuments of a people and an age 
which have long since passed away forever, and, far beyond, 
the illimitable desert and hills of sand which bound the view 
on the African side; opposite to these, looking eastwardly, 
are the Mokattam hills or mountains, which stretch away to 
the south, and far into the Arabian desert. Mingled in one 
picturesque outline, you see the broad and winding Nile, 
which confers life upon Egypt, and renders verdant its pro- 
ductive banks ; the vast collection of splendid tombs and 
mausolea for the dead of past generations, which serve to re- 
mind one of the certainty of death and decay of all things 
human ; the beautiful palm groves, the numerous villages, 
the broad fields of grain, the gardens and residences of the 
great, the manufactories of the pasha's introduction, and such- 
like features, which, under the brilliant sun and the transpa- 
rent skies of Egypt, have an attractiveness which, so far as I 
know, is peculiarly their own. But it is not these things 
which require our present attention, since there are several 



184 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



elevated spots where this same scene, slightly varied, is spread 
out to view ; the city itself, as we now see it, claims our no- 
tice on many accounts. In the streets and lanes, it is very 
difficult to form any idea of the actual state of the houses in 
which people live, or of the strange appearance which they 
present when seen from a high position, as ours is ; but here, 
we look down upon such things as we could not have sup- 
posed to exist in a large and populous city, like the metropo- 
lis of Egypt.* Observe the air of desolation which seems to 
envelop every object ; the houses are very generally partly in 
rain, and being built of the dark-colored bricks, formed of 
the mud of the Nile, look still less inviting than would other- 
wise be the case. Crowded together, and having few ave- 
nues wide enough to be distinguished, were it not for the re- 
lief which the minarets afford to the scene, the dwellings of 
the people would in genera] strike one as Tittle better than 
those in the villages ; in short, Cairo looks like a city in ruins, 
and the reality is probably not very far behind the appearance. 

Before returning to our hotel, let us go into the bazaars, 
which are in many respects the most interesting objects in 
the city, and will well repay us for an hour or two spent in 
examining them. Most of the streets, especially the larger 
ones, have a row of shops on either side, and, as you will ob- 
serve, certain portions of the city are devoted to some par- 
ticular branch of trade or manufactures : thus, there is the 

* "The modern Egyptian metropolis is now called 'Masr;' more properly 
'Misr;' but was formerly named ' El-Kahireh;" whence Europeans have formed 
the name of Cairo. It is situated at the entrance of the valley of Upper Egypt, 
midway between the Nile and the eastern mountain range of Mukattam. Be- 
tween it and the river, there intervenes a tract of land, for the most part culti- 
vated, which in the northern parts, (where the port of Bulak is situated) is more 
than a mile in width, and at the southern part, less than half a mile wide. The 
metropolis occupies a space equal to about three square miles ; and its popula- 
tion is about 240.000. It is surrounded by a wall, the gates of which are shut 
at night, and is commanded by a large citadel, situated at an angle of the town, 
near a point of the mountain. The streets are unpaved: and most of them are 
narrow and irregular : they might more properly be called lanes." — Lane's 
|: Modern Egyptians" vol. i. p. 5. 



GREAT TURKISH BAZAAR. 



185 



market of the copper-ware dealers, the jewellers' market or 
bazaar, that of the hard- ware merchants, of the sword-mount- 
ers, of the silk dealers, of the perfume- sellers, of the gold and 
silver workers, &c. It will be quite impossible for us to do 
more than look at one of these thoroughly ; let us then go to 
the great Turkish sook or bazaar, termed " Khan El-Khalee- 
lee,"* from the sultan Khaleel, in whose reign it was built, 
A.D. 1292, and we shall obtain probably the best idea which 
Cairo affords of an oriental bazaar. It consists, as you see, of 
a number of short lanes, connected with each other, and has 
four entrances from different quarters. The shops are on 
both sides, and are worth stopping to look at, and to contrast 
with the large and splendid shops in our western cities: a 
square recess or cell, perhaps seven or eight feet high, and 
about half that distance in width, with narrow shelves for the 
articles offered for sale, constitutes a shop in the " Khan El- 
Khaleelee." In front of the shops, you observe that there is a 
raised seat of stone or brick, built up to a height even with 
the floor, i. e., about three feet above the ground : this seat 
is about a yard wide, and having a carpet spread over it, with 
a cushion to recline against, is used by the shop-keeper as 
well for his own purposes as to accommodate a customer with 
a pipe and means of resting during the tedious process of con- 
cluding a bargain. Several of the bazaars, as you observe 
here where we are at present, are covered over with matting 
laid on loose reeds, or supported by more solid planks, ex- 
tending across the street, at a slight distance, usually, above 
the houses. 

* "The Khan Khaleel (or Khan Khaleelee) was built in 691, A.H. (A.D. 
1292) by one of the officers of the reigning sultan, whose name, Khaleel, it bears. 
This man, under the pretence of removing the bones of the caliphs to a more 
suitable place of interment, is said to have thrown them carelessly on the mounds 
of rubbish outside the walls ; to which profane conduct they ascribe his misera- 
ble end ; having been killed in battle in Syria, and his body having been eaten 
by dogs. This, like many other Arab stories, may be doubted." — '■' Hand Book 
for Egypt," p. 141. 

7 



186 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Notice, now, for a moment, what is passing before our 
eyes; crowds of people are constantly moving along, some 
having come to buy, and some merely to look ; different cries 
are shouted in our ears by those who vend articles about the 
streets ; women of the lower classes are haggling with the 
shop-keeper about some trifling purchase; ladies in silks and 
satins are stopping to examine some jewelry or ornaments, 
where not only the bijouterie attracts their attention, but 
something else in the merchant himself, a circumstance 
which strikingly reminds one of the Arabian Nights, and the 
love stories in them based on the visits of ladies to the ba- 
zaars ; on the mastabah, or raised seat, at various shops, are 
customers, who having taken off their shoes and drawn their 
feet under them, are gravely smoking a pipe or drinking 
coffee, as a necessary part of making a purchase ; or having 
concluded these operations, are soberly discussing the value 
of the article, and what may be considered a fair price ; some 
of the shops are empty, the master having left his property to 
the care of his neighbors, who in general thus aid one another ; 
in one or two places the merchant is very devout, and is say- 
ing his prayers upon the mastabah, in the sight of everybody, 
according to the custom of the Turks and other Mohamme- 
dans ; and mingled with all are foreigners from nearly all 
nations, and persons of all colors, which form a medley rather 
curious and interesting. As we stroll through this extensive 
bazaar, we see that a great variety of articles are on sale; 
such as ready-made clothes, arms of different descriptions and 
qualities, the seggadehs or prayer-carpets, silks, linens, mus- 
lins, amber mouth-pieces, pipes, copper-ware, &c. &c. 

Let us see if we can make a bargain for an article of dress 
which I expect to use in going into Syria ; it will serve to 
illustrate the oriental manner of buying and selling, which is 
in some respects very diverse from our own. I wish for a 
burnoos or heavy capote, and in a shop close at hand I see 
several exposed to view : we stop at an old acquaintance's. 



I 



PROCESS OF BUYING AND SELLING. 187 

with whom we have dealt before. He is delighted to see us, 
presses us to mount the mastabah and take a pipe ; the latter 
we decline, courteously of course, and beg him to show us 
the burnoos. I find one which fits me tolerably, and I in- 
quire the price ; being a customer, he does not advance on 
what he means to take more than eighty or a hundred pias- 
tres, and for the same reason, I do not offer him less than a 
hundred below what I purpose giving : then begins the 
speechifying ; he expatiates upon the superior quality of the 
article ; beseeches me to handle it and see ; and declaring 
that he cannot for a moment entertain my offer, diminishes 
his price, nevertheless, thirty piastres. I listen with the ut- 
most gravity, assure him that I do not particularly care about 
the burnoos, and am in doubt whether to buy one or not; but 
on reflection, I advance my offer twenty-five piastres. This 
only excites the Turk, and the phlegmatic merchant gets on 
his feet, and with a gesture of impatience at my hardness, 
solemnly declares his ultimatum, which is sixty piastres less 
than the original price asked. At this point I determine 
upon my course ; as I do not specially need the garment at 
this time, I say to him, rather indifferently, "Well, as you 
please ; in consideration of having traded with you before, I 
will tell you what I will do ; I will give you a hundred and 
seventy-five piastres for the burnoos, and no more." This, 
by the way, is within fifteen of what he has offered it to me 
for ; he shakes his head, and says, no; so I get up and take 
my leave, to try elsewhere ; but hardly have I got ten feet 
away from his shop, before he calls me back, and says, " Well, 
well ; allah akbar ; take it ; you are an old customer, and I 
can't refuse you." So, by this roundabout and time-losing 
process, I get what I want at about a fair price : and so, in 
fact, is the way with nearly every purchase which one makes 
in Cairo. 

On the whole, I am not sure but that you will be wearied 
with this attempt to give life to scenes which must be viewed 



188 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



with one's own eyes really to be appreciated ; and I assure 
you that I have rarely felt more acutely than at present how 
difficult it is to describe accurately and intelligibly the ordi- 
nary habits and customs of oriental life. There are so many 
peculiarities arising out of the national characteristics of the 
people, so many little things which exemplify the mental de- 
velopment of the masses — so far as this term can be applied 
to them — and so many finer shades which are necessary parts 
of the picture as a whole, that I shall be surprised if you are 
not disappointed with what I have written, or if you do not 
censure the vagueness and unsatisfactoriness of the present 
letter. Perhaps you will allow me, as a fitting close to my 
lucubrations on these topics — even though I know I shall suf- 
fer much by comparison — to quote a passage or two from Mr. 
Lane, in illustration of some of the many and various cries 
heard in the streets of Cairo ; allusion was made to them 
above, and they are sufficiently curious and peculiarly orien- 
tal to merit attention: "the seller of sour limes cries, 'God 
make them light, (or easy of sale) ! O limes !' — The toasted 
pips of a kind of melon called ' abdallawee,' and of the water- 
melon, are often announced by the cry of ' O consoler of the 
embarrassed ! O pips !' though more commonly by the sim- 
ple cry of ' Roasted pips !' — A curious cry of the seller of a 
kind of sweetmeat (' halaweh'), composed of treacle fried with 
some other ingredients, is 'For a nail! O sweetmeat !' He 
is said to be half a thief : children and servants often steal 
implements of iron, &c, from the house in which they live, 
and give them to him in exchange for his sweetmeat. — The 
hawker of oranges cries 'Honey! O oranges ! Honey!' and 
similar cries are used by the sellers of other fruits and vege- 
tables, so that it is sometimes impossible to guess what the 
person announces for sale, as when we hear the cry of ' Syca- 
more figs ! O grapes !' excepting by the rule that what is for 
sale is the least excellent of the fruits, &c, mentioned ; as 
sycamore figs are not so good as grapes. — A very singular 



CRIES IN THE STREETS. 



189 



cry is used by the seller of roses : ' The rose was a thorn ; 
from the sweat of the prophet it blossomed.' This alludes to 
a miracle related of the prophet. — The fragrant flowers of the 
henna-tree (or Egyptian privet), are carried about for sale, 
and the seller cries, 'Odors of paradise! O flowers of the 
henna !' — A kind of cotton cloth, made by machinery, which 
is put in motion by a bull, is announced by the cry of ' The 
work of the bull ! O maidens V "* Other illustrations of the 
cries of various street merchants are found in Mr. Lane's 
volumes, to which I beg to refer you in case your curiosity 
extends beyond what I have quoted ; at present I leave the 
whole subject, in the hope that in my next letter I may 
interest you more successfully in some other features peculiar 
to the East. 



" Modern Egyptians" vol. ii. p. 18. 



LETTER X. 



Religious Edifices.— Great Number of Mosks in Cairo.— Mosk of Ahmed ibn et-Tulun.— Old- 
est. — Minaret.— Anecdote. — Mosks easily Visited. — Description of Interior. — Mosk of Sultan 
Hassan.— Finest in Cairo. — Interior. — Citadel. — Massacre of Memlooks. — Mohammed Ali's 
Mosk. — Splendid View from Citadel.— Adventure. — Objects of Interest in the Environs of 
Cairo. — Heliopolis. — Obelisk. — Sad Reflections. — Joseph and the Daughter of the Priest or 
Prince of On. — Sycamore of the Holy Family. — An Oriental Bath. — Description of one. — Its 
Peculiarities. — Great Enjoyment. 

Cairo, March 6th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

I do not know that there is anything in any country, 
which, to a thoughtful mind, is more full of interest, and 
more strikingly illustrative of the character and condition of 
the people, than their religious edifices. Go where we will, 
we are sure to find evidences of some sort of belief in superior 
power and agency, whether it be the wretched idolatry of the 
Hindoos, the false creed of the Arabian impostor, or the pure 
and true faith of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and 
we are equally sure to meet with houses of worship, and edi- 
fices devoted to religion, which afford us an insight into the 
nature of their belief, and tend to show the near approach of 
nations and people to the truth, as it is in Jesus, or their vast 
remove from that which constitutes the glory of Christian 
lands. It was, therefore, with feelings of no ordinary char- 
acter, that I spent some days, in visiting such of the mosks 
as are accessible to Franks, and in noticing their peculi- 
arities, and their points of difference from , the churches and 
temples devoted to the worship of the Triune God of our sal- 



MOSK OF AHMED IBN ET-TULUN. 191 

vation. You will not be displeased, 1 am confident, if I de- 
scribe one or two of these mosks somewhat at large. They 
are said to be very numerous in the metropolis — Wilkinson 
thinks about four hundred ; but they do not differ much, ex- 
cept in size and variety of minarets, and would not repay one 
for the trouble of visiting them all : hence I shall confine my 
remarks to those two, which seem to have the greatest inter- 
est connected with them, — the one as being the oldest, the 
other the finest mosk in Cairo. 

The mosk of Ahmed ibn et-Tulun, commonly known as 
the " Gama Taylun," is the oldest in the metropolis, having 
been founded nearly a hundred years before any other part 
of the city, in the year A.H. 265 = A.D, 879 ; and though it 
is not particularly attractive on the score of architectural 
beauty, it is very interesting in another point of view, as 
establishing the use of the pointed arch, some three hundred 
years before its introduction into England. The exterior, like 
that of most of the mosks which I have seen, presents a sin- 
gular want of taste, according to our ideas, in having the 
walls daubed, for I can call it nothing else, with alternate 
horizontal stripes of coarse red and white paint, which seems 
to me to give the building a childish and almost ridiculous 
appearance. The edifice, as a whole, is very large, and the 
windows are few, small, and protected by thin bars of wood 
or iron, which form a sort of lattice- work, through which the 
air circulates freely. This particular mosk has a very singu- 
lar mad'neh or minaret, unlike, I believe, any other in Cairo ; 
for the staircase, by which the ascent is made, winds round 
the outside. The cause of this peculiarity is thus given by 
Wilkinson : " It is said to have originated in the absent hab- 
its of its founder, and an observation of his wizeer : he had 
observed him unconsciously rolling a piece of parchment into 
a spiral form ; and, having remarked, 'it was a pity his maj- 
esty had no better employment,' the king, in order to excuse 
himself, replied, ' so far from trifling, I have been thinking 



192 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



that a minaret erected on this principle, would have many 
advantages ; I could even ride up it on horseback : and I 
wish that of my new mosk to be built of the same form.' " # 
There is little or no difficulty attendant upon visiting the 
mosks of Cairo at the present day ; and, with the exception 
of two of them (viz., the Hassanin and the Ezher), a person 
in a Frank dress may freely enter a mosk, and look about 
him as much as he chooses, without fear of insult or molesta- 
tion. For this we have to thank the French, in great meas- 
ure ; for it is only since their invasion, that the privilege of 
even passing before several of the mosks, has been allowed 
to Christians and the persecuted Jew. Happily, too, Moham- 
med Ali has had sense enough to see, how impolitic is all this 
bigotry and intolerance, in which the lower classes delight. 
Some two or three days ago, accompanied by Antonio, I set 
out to spend a day in looking through the Mohammedan houses 
of worship, visiting first the mosk of the Sultan, above alluded 
to. The entrance is mean, comparatively speaking, and has 
usually about it a number of loungers or idle fanatics, and 
beggars, who go as far as they dare, in muttering impreca- 
tions upon the " Christian dogs," and in gazing at them with 
countenances fairly lighted up, at times, with malignity and 
Pharisaic pride. We walked some little distance through a 
rather dark passage-way, till we came to an open doorway, 
leading to the inner part of the building. Here we were 
stopped by the servant or keeper of the mosk ; and before we 
were allowed to step over the low railing, and enter, we had 
either to take off boots, and go in barefoot, or encase our feet, 
boots and all, in a pair of heavy reed slippers. I chose the 
latter, not feeling it quite safe to spend any time barefoot on 
the stone floor inside. Antonio, however, followed the usual 
fashion. We now found ourselves in a large, open, square 
court, paved, and having in the centre a large fountain, cov- 
ered with a dome, and used by the people for ablutions, pre- 

* "Hand-Book for Egypt" p. 133. 



/ 



INTERIOR OF THE GAMA TAYLUN. 193 

vious to prayer. On each side of this court are colonnades, 
those on three of the sides consisting of two rows of columns, 
about sixty feet deep, and that on the eastern end, of five 
rows, all supporting pointed arches. On two sides, however, 
as I was informed, the colonnades have been converted into 
houses, by order of the government. The mosk itself is said 
to be built on the plan of the Kaaba at Mecca. Crossing the 
court, we came to that portion of the building, which is prin- 
cipally used for the place of prayer. It is more spacious than 
the other parts of the mosk, and is divided into three aisles, 
by rows of columns, parallel with the outer wall. Mats are 
spread over the entire space, and the worshippers go through 
with their devotions, high and low, rich and poor, all together, 
without distinction of classes — a feature of Mohammedanism, 
which reminded me rather painfully of the different notion 
of things, which Protestant Christians are apt to entertain in 
arranging their houses of prayer. In the centre of the ex- 
terior wall is the mehrab or niche, which points out the direc- 
tion of Mecca ; towards which, as you know, every Moham- 
medan turns when he says his prayers. To the right of the 
niche is the pulpit, which is about ten feet high, I suppose, 
and reached by means of a wooden staircase, remarkable 
rather for solidity than beauty. " Opposite the mehrab, in the 
central part of the portico, there is a platform (called ' dik- 
keh'), surrounded by a parapet, and supported by small col- 
umns ; and by it, or before it, are one or two seats, having a 
kind of desk, to bear a volume of the koran, from which a 
chapter is read to the congregation. The walls in the mosks 
generally are quite plain, being simply whitewashed ; but in 
some of them, the lower part of the wall of the place of 
prayer is lined with colored marble, and the other part orna- 
mented with various devices, executed in stucco, but mostly 
with texts of the koran (which form long friezes, having a 
pleasant effect), and never with the representation of anything 
that has life." In one corner of this part of the edifice, is the 



194 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tomb of the Sultan Tulun (whose reign dates A.D. 868-884) ; 
it is railed in ; and what little light there is here, comes 
principally from above, the ceiling being very lofty. At this 
hour, being about the middle of the forenoon, there were very 
few persons present ; one old man, doubtless a mendicant, 
from his looks, lay stretched out at full length, asleep on the 
matting, not far from the pulpit : a number of children were 
running about, and playing very noisily ; and several women 
seemed to be lounging around, more to gratify their curiosity 
than anything else. 

Escaping from the importunity of the beggars, and the 
cupidity of the door-keeper as well as I could,* I next set out 
to visit the mosk of Sultan Hassan, which is said to be, and 
justly, I believe, the finest in Cairo. It is situate just at the 
foot of the lofty hill on which the Citadel stands, between the 
Roomaylee and the Soog e' Sullah. The Cairenes are ex- 
ceedingly proud of this mosk, and well they may be, since 
it is the only one that I have seen in Cairo which has any 
pretensions to what we consider architectural beauty or gran- 
deur. It has a high and rather finely ornamented porch ; the 
cornice of its lofty walls is rich in decorations ; its minaret 
is one of the most striking in the whole city, and the arches 
of its spacious court cannot fail to interest every admirer of 
architecture. But after all, how far short does it fall of the 
sublime conception and execution of an edifice, like hundreds 
of Christian churches, in which our Lord and our God is 
worshipped and adored, with a pure and holy worship ! In 
the temples of the true God, we see a grasping after the pure, 

* Thefts are sometimes committed in the mosks ; Mr. Lane tells an amu- 
sing story which was related to him by a friend : — " I went there," (to the Has- 
aneyn Mosk) said he, " to pray ; and as I was stooping over the brink of the 
meydaah, to perform the ablution, having placed my shoes beside me, and was 
saying, 'I purpose to perform the Divine ordinance of the wudoo,' somebody 
behind me said to himself, ' I purpose to take away this nice pair of shoes.' 
On looking round, I found an old worn-out pair of shoes put in the place of my 
own, which were new."— ' ! Modern Egyptians," vol. ii. p. 235. 



MOSK OF SULTAN HASSAN. 



195 



the spiritual, the infinite : in the edifices of imposture and 
false religion, all is sensuous, materializing, utilitarian, ex- 
pedient ; — and thus will it ever be, as it ever has been. After 
mounting a number of steps, and making our way through 
a crooked, narrow passage, we came to the entrance or door 
nearest the tank for ablutions. Here I had to go through the 
same operation, of putting on slippers over my boots before I 
could enter. The interior is very large, and differs from " the 
mosks of early times, and from the generality of those in 
Cairo, consisting of a hypsethral court, with a square recess 
on each side, covered by a noble and majestic arch, that on 
the east being much more spacious than the other three, and 
measuring sixty-nine feet five inches in span-." Besides the 
pulpit, niche, etc., as in the mosk of Sultan Tulun, I noticed 
a number of chains for lamps, which are suspended from the 
ceiling, and the two rows of pretty colored glass vases, of 
Syrian manufacture, bearing the name of the Sultan, and 
hanging from the side walls : these add much to the effect of 
the interior. Passing through a door, we came into a large 
room, with a very lofty dome of wood and plaster, and some 
curious ornamental woodwork at the corners of the ceiling or 
top of the wall. In the centre of this apartment is the tomb 
of the Sultan Hassan : it is railed in, has a large old copy of 
the koran lying upon it, and bears the date A.H. 764 (= A.D. 
1363). The pavement here is a good deal out of repair, and 
there is not that neatness which I had expected to find in this 
celebrated mosk. On the whole, however, it well repays the 
visitor for the time spent in going through it, even if it have 
no other effect than to lead him to the conclusion of the supe- 
riority of Christian art, and the true value and excellence 
of the religion of the cross. 

In connection with this subject, it may not be out of place 
to speak of several matters in and about Cairo, which are in 
a degree related to that of which I have just been writing. 
I refer to the Citadel, Mohammed Ali's mosk, the tombs 



196 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of the Khalifs, of the Kings, &o. The Citadel is one of the 
most interesting spots in the city : every traveller makes it a 
point to visit it, and enjoy the splendid view which is there 
spread out before him ; of course we did the same, and were 
well rewarded. The ascent is by a wide carriage road, which 
winds gradually up to the summit, and affords many a pleas- 
ant glimpse of the city, as well as distant objects. Of the 
fortifications, which are on a large scale, it is needless to 
speak ; the only really interesting point in connection with 
them is the spot near the Roomaylee gate, where Emin 
Bey — this was in March 1811 — escaped during the massacre 
of the Memlooks, By leaping his horse over a gap in the then 
dilapidated walls. You may be sure that, however policy, 
or what is called state necessity, may serve to justify or 
palliate the detestable treachery of Mohammed Ali, we could 
not refrain from a strong feeling of indignation against him 
and all other tyrants who take such means to rid themselves 
of their enemies. Within the Citadel is the new mosk of Mo- 
hammed Ali ; it is very large and peculiarly imposing, as 
well from its position as from its style, and the material 
of which it is built. The stone is the oriental or Egyptian 
alabaster, and is very showy, and on the whole pleasing. At 
present the mosk is but partially finished, and it will probably 
take some years before it can be completed. They have a 
curious notion in Cairo and the neighborhood, that the old 
Pasha, who is now in his dotage, and may be removed at any 
moment, is to be spared till his new mosk is entirely finished. 
It is quite possible, that this same delusive idea has place in 
his thoughts, and that he counts upon several years yet, be- 
fore he goes to his final account.^ The view from the plat- 
form or level space in front, which forms the court of the 

* Alas for all human calculations ! Mohammed Ali is dead; he expired 
August 2d, 1849, aged 80 years, and was buried in his unfinished mosk, and 
not in the large and splendid mausoleum which he had provided for himself and 
his family. 



VIEW FROM THE CITADEL. 



197 



mosk, is really grand, and surpasses anything which I have 
seen in Cairo. You have spread out before you the whole 
city, the arsenal below, and the surrounding country. Just 
outside of the Citadel gates is the mosk of Sultan Hassan. 
Immediately beyond, and in every direction, the numerous 
minarets rise, as it were, from amid the ruins of a great city, 
and form one of the features on which the eye loves to rest. 
In the distance are the mighty Pyramids, and the valley of 
the Nile, reaching to Sakkhara on the south, and the point 
of the Delta on the north. Besides the things already men- 
tioned, the Citadel contains other objects worthy of a visit, as 
the Pasha's palace, where Abbas Pasha receives official visits, 
and the well of Joseph, that is, of Salah ed-Din, or Yusef 
ibn-Eiyub, who, though you might not easily guess it from 
the Arabic name, thus spelled, figures in history and romance 
as the chivalrous Saladin, the worthy opponent of the Lion- 
hearted Richard of England. We visited these, as a matter 
of course, while we were about it ; but they are not of con- 
sequence enough to demand special description at my hands. 

As we were leaving the Citadel, on our return, I chanced 
to be some distance behind our party, and alone ; a number 
of noisy boys came along, and excepting some abusive words, 
passed me without notice. I rode on very quietly, not ex- 
pecting anything further, when the first thing I knew, a large 
stone struck me in the back, having been hurled with con- 
siderable force. Convinced that insult of this kind ought not 
to be submitted to in silence, I immediately wheeled my 
donkey to the right about, and dashed into the midst of the 
boys at full speed. I happened to have a stout stick in my 
hand, and I assure you, I whirled it about to the infinite an- 
noyance and no little risk of these young fanatics. I de- 
manded to know which was the one that dared to throw a 
stone ; but, terrified, pale and trembling, every boy denied it, 
and thus prevented my castigating the real offender, a course 
which I had made up my mind to take, without hesitation, 



198 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and effectually. After giving them a good lecture, I let them 
go, and in a few minutes rejoined our party ahead, having 
been taught a useful lesson as to the actual hatred instilled 
into the minds of the young against Christians. I understood 
now, pretty well, the instruction which is given in many 
schools in Cairo, as summed up in the prayer quoted by Mr. 
Lane (vol. ii. p. 424), and used every day ; and I have little 
doubt, that if the present Pasha suffer it, we shall see a re- 
turn, in part at least, to the outrage and insult manifested 
against Christians in former days, before Mohammed Ali's 
rule in Egypt. 

There are a number of other things of which I might 
speak, and which, perhaps, I might succeed in making inter- 
esting to you. The environs of Cairo have several features, 
not wanting in attractiveness ; and as we have spent a longer 
time in the metropolis than we intended, owing to circum- 
stances of a private nature, we have visited pretty thoroughly 
all the objects worth seeing, and some that do not repay one 
for his trouble. We have ridden to Bulak quite frequently, 
and explored that busy suburb of Cairo with much interest : 
we have been again to old Cairo, to see the mosk of 'Amr, 
which is in ruins, but undergoing repair, and to make a pil- 
grimage to the Grotto of the Virgin, over which the Copts 
have built a large church, and in which they devoutly believe 
the Virgin Mother to have nursed and watched over the Holy 
Child, during the sojourn in Egypt. We have wasted some 
precious hours in looking at the Nilometer, on the island of 
Rhoda. We have had a delightful ride out to Mohammed 
Ali's palace and gardens at Shubra, where we spent several 
hours, in looking about and enjoying the fragrance of the 
flowers, the lemon and orange groves, &c. We have spent 
two days in excursions to the large and imposing tombs, in 
the vicinity of Cairo, viz., those of the Memlook kings, of 
different dynasties, that of Mohammed Ali and his family, 
and others in the neighborhood. We have had occasion, both 



HELIOPOLIS AND ITS REMAINS. 



199 



to admire the imposing and richly wrought domes and mina- 
rets of these mausoleums, and to muse over the fleeting char- 
acter of earthly grandeur and glory, in visiting many that 
are dilapidated, uncared for, and fast sinking into ruin ; — 

" Pallida Mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas 
Regumque turres :"* 

but I will not extend this mere enumeration of objects of inter- 
est or curiosity ; I will rather ask your indulgence to one of our 
excursions, in which, as it in part, at least, relates to Holy Scrip- 
ture, I am sure you will find something worthy your attention. 

It was a pleasant ride, in an easterly direction, of rather 
more than two hours from Cairo to Matarieh, near which are 
the few scant remains of once glorious Heliopolis. Some 
considerable time before reaching it, the obelisk was plainly 
in sight, and presented a singular appearance in the midst 
of cultivated fields and gardens ; whereas formerly, ages ago, 
it and its companion stood, at the entrance of the magnificent 
Temple of the Sun, and was approached by a grand and im- 
posing dromos of Sphinxes.! Rarely, even in this land of 
ruins, is there to be found a monument, which more aptly 
illustrates the fleeting character of earthly greatness, than 
this noble obelisk, almost the sole remnant of a city, renowned 
for learning, wisdom, and splendor. It stands all alone, 
though in the centre of a fertile garden. The fellahm whom 
we saw, and who here pursue their daily labor, have no 

* Horat. Carm. I. iv. 13, 14. 

f The faces of the obelisk measure at the ground six feet one inch on the 
north and south, and six feet three inches on the east and west. Its height 
above the level of the ground is sixty-two feet four inches. The annual de- 
posits of the Nile have in the lapse of time covered the base and pedestal. 
Wilkinson found the base, or first pedestal of the obelisk, to be about six feet 
below the present level of the ground ; and a larger pedestal a number of feet 
still lower down. This may give you some idea what changes have taken place 
in the eourse of time in the valley of the Nile— the river bringing down its fer- 
tilizing products and depositing them on the land, as well as retaining a portion 
in its own bed, year after year, as it has done from a period beyond the range 
of authentic history. 



200 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



knowledge or conception of its meaning or significance ; and 
they gaze at it with listless indifference, roused only by the 
visits of inquisitive foreigners, whom they count little better 
than fools or madmen. Far, far back into antiquity does its 
history reach, not much short of three thousand six hundred 
years ago (Mr. Gliddon dates it about B.C. 2070) ; and yet 
here it stands, while everything else in connection with Heli- 
opolis, that famous seat of learning and Egyptian wisdom, 
has faded away, and become very dust and ashes. You will 
not wonder that I fell into my usual musing way, or that I 
spent a long time in striving to realize the lessons which such 
monuments ought ever to teach, of the unsatisfying nature 
of human glory, and the utter worthlessness of this world's 
fame, power, and magnificence. I read the inscription as well 
as I could, though it is not easy, in consequence of a multitude 
of wasps, or insects of that sort, having deposited the mate- 
rials for their homes on a considerable portion of the obelisk's 
faces. Mr. Osburn translates it as follows, stating that on 
each face is the same hieroglyphic inscription : — 

" Horus the life-giver, the king of an obedient people (Sun 
offered to the world), lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, the 
life-giving son of the Sun, Osortasen, beloved of the spirits 
of Poone, the hawk of gold, the life-giver, the great god, (Sun 
offered to the world), the celebrator of the festivals, giving 
eternal life." 

Rosselini's translation, as given by Mr. Gliddon, is sub- 
stantially the same : — 

" The Horus [living of men], Pharaoh, Sun offered to the 
world, lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, the living of men, 
son of the Sun, Osortasen, beloved of the spirits in the re- 
gion of Pone, ever-living, life of mankind, resplendent Horus, 
beneficent deity, Sun offered to the world, who has begun 
the celebration of his two panegyries to him who makes him, 
vivifier forever." 

Truly, methought, as I stood looking at this really beauti- 



THE OBELISK AND ITS LESSONS. 201 

ful obelisk, all such boasting is vain, and all the might, maj- 
esty, and dominion of man, is like his life itself, — " a vapor 
that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." 
Alas, how little do we know of him, the monarch of Egypt, 
who once trod the earth so proudly, rejoicing in his strength, 
surrounded by sycophants and flatterers, and vainly hoping 
to escape the doom of man — oblivion and nothingness ! This 
single block of stone is all : it tells his name, and parades his 
kingly titles ; his wars and conquests, his magnificence and 
glory, his virtues and vices, his qualities of head and heart, 
his trials and successes, his domestic life, and those manifold 
characteristics which link him to us and the great family of 
man, — what do we know of them ? and what is Osortasen 
to us but a name, a mere name, to which we attach no idea ? 
O, instead of seeking those things in which fallen man so 
much rejoices, may our inheritance be that of which St. Peter 
speaks, " incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away, reserved in heaven for us ;" and may we be among 
the wise, and them that turn many to righteousness, for they 
" shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the 
stars forever and ever."*' 

It was not the least interesting feature in connection with 
Heliopolis, to call to mind the Scripture story — so inimitably 
told — of Joseph, the good and noble Joseph. He, you re- 
member, by his wisdom and the blessing of God resting 
upon him, was made ruler over all the land of Egypt : " and 
Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah ;t and he 
gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah,£ 

* 1 Pet. i. 4;. Dan. xii. 3. 

•f Gesenius's Lexicon is worth looking into for the signification of this name. 
The Septuagint give ^ovdo^avfix, which means, according to Egyptian authori- 
ties, "the Saviour of the world." Jerome also interprets it Servator mundi ; 
Kimchi, however, makes the Hebrew words to signify " Revealer of secrets." 

£ This name Poti-pherah, Pete-phra, he who belongs to the sun, is very com- 
mon on the monuments of Egypt. "The ancient Egyptian name of Heliopolis 
was in hieroglyphics Re-ei or Ei-re, ' the house' or ' abode of the Sun,' cor- 

9* 



202 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

priest of On," — which city was afterwards by the Greeks 
called Heliopolis. It was an alliance of great moment as 
well to Joseph and his family, still in Canaan, as to the 
monarch and people of Egypt. It established Joseph's 
power on a firm basis, by connecting him with a noble fam- 
ily, and enabled him to make such arrangements as might 
best subserve the end which Divine Providence purposed 
accomplishing in this way. For, you will observe, that not 
only were the priests, as a body, possessed of very great 
power and influence, but the particular college at On, or 
Heliopolis, was renowned above all, and of course the high 
priest of On was the most distinguished ; his son-in-law, as 
ruler of Egypt, must have been supreme. It would seem, 
also, as Osburn suggests, " that in name, in dress, in lan- 
guage, and in manners, (doubtless so far only as was con- 
sistent with the service of the God to whom he was so 
eminently devoted,) he appeared as an Egyptian, (Gen. xlii. 
23.)"* In later times, the prophets speak of Heliopolis un- 
der names signifying the same thing as the Greek word ; he, 
Nebuchadrezzar, " shall break also the images of Beth- 
shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt " the young men of 
Aven (On) shall fall by the sword. "t After the accession 
of the Ptolemies, it ceased to be the seat of learning and 
influence, the new capital, Alexandria, outrivalling all com- 
petitors ; and in the days of Strabo (B.C. 30) it had become 
deserted, several of its obelisks had been removed, and its 
importance had dwindled into almost nothing. Since then 
it has sunk into entire ruin, and it would not be easy to find 
the site of the city, were it not for the obelisk and a few 
fragments noticed by Wilkinson. Let me conclude this 

responding to the title Bethshemes. of the same import, which was applied to it 
by the Jews ; and in Scripture and in Coptic it is called On." 

* li Antiquities of Egypt ," p. 16. See Hengstenberg's " Egypt and the Books 
of Moses, 7 ' p. 32-34. 

f Jer. xliii. 13 : Ezek. xxx. 17. 



SYCAMORE OF THE HOLY FAMILY. 203 

brief notice in his words : " On a red granite fragment, lying 
some distance from the obelisk, are the name and mutilated 
figure of the great Remeses ; and Mr. Salt found a pedestal 
with a bull and Osiris, about a quarter of a mile to the east- 
ward. The bull Mnevis shared with Re or Phra the worship 
of this city, and was one of the most noted among the sacred 
animals of Egypt. It was kept in a particular enclosure set 
apart for it, as for Apis at Memphis, and enjoyed the same 
honor in the Heliopolite as the latter did in the Memphite 
nome." f 

At no great distance from the obelisk is " the fountain of 
the Sun," which has the reputation of being the only real 
spring in the valley of the Nile, though in fact it is supplied, 
like the other wells in Egypt, by filtration from the river. 
Passing by this, we rode a little way further, and like many 
thousand pilgrims before our days, we went to see the Syca- 
more of the Holy Family. It is a large old tree, in the midst 
of a neat, pretty flower garden, and has been visited by great 
numbers of persons in years that are gone by. We saw here 
several names of countrymen and others which we recognized, 
and could hardly forbear smiling at the strength of that pro- 
pensity for cutting names in famous localities, which seems 
to characterize the race to which we belong. Tradition — 
though here of little if any value — relates that the "fountain 
of the Sun" was once salt, but that by the visit of the Holy 
Family it became sweet and pure ; and further, that this is 
the very tree, under which more than eighteen hundred years 
ago, the blessed Virgin and Child with Joseph reposed for a 
season, after their long and wearisome journey from Judea. We 
spent some little time musing over the circumstances con- 
nected with the Scripture history to which the tradition 
points ; and inclined more to pity than censure the credulity 
of the poor pilgrim who believes all that is told him on these 



* " Hand-Book for Egypt," p. 168. 



204 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



subjects, we bade adieu to Heliopolis and its vicinity, and rode 
back to Cairo. 

There is not much congruity, I confess, between visiting 
and exploring ruins, and enjoying the luxuries of an oriental 
bath ; and you may not be able to see exactly why I introduce 
the latter into such grave and staid company. In good sooth, 
I have no especial reason, though I suspect one might be 
found for this as well as other things ; the simple honest truth 
is, that I have a page or two to spare at this time, and I have 
really enjoyed this sort of bath so much, that I quite want to 
tell you all about it ; it is needful, too, in order to illustrate a 
striking feature in oriental life and customs. 

It was one of the best establishments in the city, though in 
an out-of-the-way street, to which we went, on our initiation 
into one of the greatest sources of pleasure and amusement to 
orientals.* The entrance is through a narrow door and pas- 
sage-way, which introduce the visitor into a large apartment, 
paved with different colored marble, intermixed with pieces 
of red tile. Round the sides of the room are high raised seats 
or diwans to recline on, and according to one's taste, to use for 
saying his prayers against the jinn and other evil influences, 
or to undress and get ready for the bathing operation inside. 
Several bleached objects were lounging here after their bath, 
smoking, chatting, or sitting in dreamy vacuity, which de- 
lights the Turk especially on such occasions. We passed on 
to an inner room, which is considerably smaller, and has an 
arched ceiling overhead, whence the light comes, two raised 
seats, etc. The warm vapor in this apartment had an im- 
mediate and sensible effect upon our feelings, and we were 
very glad to disrobe ourselves as quickly as possible. Leaving 
our clothes, &o., in the hands of the keeper, who is held re- 
sponsible, and with a napkin round the loins and wooden 
clogs on the feet, to save one from slipping, as much as any- 

* There are some sixty or seventy baths of various sizes and qualities in 
Cairo. 



AN ORIENTAL BATH. 



205 



thing, we entered through a small, low door, into a large, 
square apartment, in most respects like the outer one, having 
seats or diwans, being paved, etc. ; in the centre of the room 
is a fountain of hot water, which keeps it filled with hot va- 
por, and very soon throws one into a profuse perspiration. 
Here a one-eyed Arab, like myself with only a napkin round 
his loins, took me in charge, and depriving me of the clogs, 
led me up several steps into a small adjoining chamber, to 
undergo the first process in an oriental bath. A tank of 
water, hot enough to scald one if introduced suddenly into it, 
is in the middle of this chamber, and the vapor or hot air is so 
filled with moisture, that it is only by the gradual approach 
which one makes in getting to this point, that he finds him- 
self at all able to endure it. My friend, the Arab, spread a 
napkin on the marble pavement within a few inches of the 
tank ; then laid me flat on my face ; and next taking a small 
coarse woollen bag, began to rub and scour me with right good 
will. "When he had finished this portion, he turned me over 
and performed the same service to the rest of my person ; 
continually throughout the process dashing me with handfuls 
of the scalding water, and begging me to let him go through 
the joint-cracking operation, which, you may be sure, I decid- 
edly declined. He revenged himself, however, by jesting and 
laughing at my white skin, and he passed his witticisms — at 
least he thought them such — to some acquaintance of tawny 
hue who was amusing himself in the tank of hot water, and 
between them I underwent a rather severe wordy castigation. 
When the rubbing was over, though I did not much relish 
the idea, I was prevailed upon first to dip my feet into the 
scalding water, and then boldly to plunge into the steaming 
caldron up to my very neck. O it was curious to see what 
the human body is capable of, and what pleasure may be 
found in a tank of hot water, provided one be not plunged 
into it too suddenly ; I assure you I enjoyed it immensely. 
Leaving this apartment, I was taken into another, also small, 



206 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and devoted to the second process. The one-eyed operator 
placed me on the top of a round stone seat, and then began 
to lather me with soap and water over the head and neck, in 
such abundance as nearly tochoke me, and for some moments 
to deprive me of breath. He uses for this purpose the fibres 
of the palm, much as we would a sponge ; these fibres are 
white (those of Egypt are brown), and as Mr. Lane states, 
are brought from the Hejaz. After a thorough washing and 
cleansing with water almost cold, from a small reservoir near- 
by, my Arab attendant had the assurance to ask me for 
bakhshish, which, as I told him — not very clearly I fear — was 
a very great piece of impudence, all things considered. I was 
next led back into the large room above spoken of, covered 
with four napkins over the head, shoulders, and loins, and 
then conducted into the apartment where we had undressed. 
Here, laid at length on our carpets, we luxuriated in the de- 
licious languor produced by the hot bath, and according to 
our respective tastes took coffee, inhaled the fragrant tobacco 
from the bubbling sheesheh, or lay half asleep dreaming of 
those far away in freezing New York. In the course of an 
hour or so we had taken our fill of this sort of enjoyment, 
and after giving the grumbling bath-men about five times the 
usual price (to a Turk or native it is two or three piastres, 
= nine or fourteen cents), we left them, and emerged once 
more into the open air. # 

Here, however, let me close for the present ; we have be- 
gun to make our arrangements for leaving Cairo, and ven- 
turing into the vast desert on the East; our thoughts are 
turned toward the "land of promise," and I find myself a 
good deal occupied in getting various matters in readiness for 
the expedition. But I mean, notwithstanding, to write you 
once more before bidding a final adieu to Egypt. 

* See on this subject, Lane's " Modern Egyptians," vol. ii. p. 43-54. 



LETTER XL 



<&o#Uc Qtffuxc't} — public J&en autr 3Sfaent»* 

Christian Privileges of Travellers.— Rev. Mr. Lieder and Family.— Missionary Operations in 
the East. — Visit to the Coptic Patriarch. — His Character and Position.— Church Services in 
the Patriarch's Church in Cairo.— Arrangements Internally.— Robes of the Priests— Customs 
of the Worshippers. — Coptic and Arabic used in the Services. — Communion Service.— Con- 
secration of the Elements.— Peculiarities of Administration. — Public Men in Cairo. — Moham- 
med Ali. — Ibrahim Pasha. — Abbas Pasha. — His Character and Course.— Presentation of Mr. 
Macauley, the American Consul-General.— Description of the Scene.— Did not go off Well.— 
Mr. Lane and Family.— Conclusion Respecting Egypt. 

Cairo, March 19th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It is one of the most delightful of a Christian traveller's 
privileges, to find in the places of his sojourn, the services of 
the English branch of the Catholic Church, conducted in 
their purity and integrity ; and to be permitted on the Lord's 
day, to assemble with even the few who meet together for this 
purpose, and to offer up united prayers and praises, in the 
very words which have become consecrated by long use, and 
thorough conviction of their entire accordance with Holy Writ. 
I shall ever esteem it as one of the brightest spots in my re- 
collections of Egypt, to have been favored, not only with an 
opportunity to kneel in the house of God, and listen to His 
servant, who there expounds His Holy Word, but also with 
the privilege of becoming acquainted with the learned and 
excellent Missionary and his family, who have been laboring 
for many years, so zealously and so effectively, among the 
Coptic Christians of Egypt. I have been partaker of so 
many acts of kindness, and been treated with such warmth 



208 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of fraternal affection, by both Mr. and Mrs. Lieder, that I 
dare not give utterance to ray feelings as I would, lest I be 
deemed extravagant, or trespass upon the sanctities of private 
life. And yet I cannot refrain from saying something which 
shall manifest the exceedingly high respect, esteem, and grat- 
itude which T entertain towards Mr. L. and all of those 
under his roof, with whom I have had for weeks almost daily 
intercourse. Of their labors, in the sphere of their proper 
duties, I may not here speak ; not for the reason that I might 
not find much to say, but simply because in all missionary 
labors in the East, among its decayed and corrupt Churches, 
everything good is the result of time, often a much longer 
time than falls to the lot of those who spend their lives in 
this portion of the Lord's vineyard. Nothing, if I may ven- 
ture an opinion, can be more fallacious, than to judge of what 
has been, or can be done, by the fruits of rapid growth ; 
nothing can well be more uncertain — apart, of course, I 
mean, from the blessing of God, who alone can give effect 
to any labor in His cause — than what a short period might 
promise ; and nothing, I am certain, can be more unsafe, 
than to build an opinion upon single instances or isolated 
facts, in missionary labors. For this reason, I know you will 
excuse me, if I do not pretend to pronounce upon the mission 
of the Church Missionary Society in Egypt, further than to 
express my firm conviction and assurance, that it has been, 
and may yet be, still further, the means of great good to the 
bodies and souls of thousands in the metropolis of this deeply 
interesting land. May God, in his mercy, pour out upon His 
ministering servant here, and all connected with him, His 
choicest blessings ! 

I have been led to think the more deeply on these matters, 
in consequence, not only of what I have stated in respect to 
the bishop of Es-Siout and the Church there, but of some 
circumstances and further opportunities of observation, which 
have occurred since our return to Cairo. By the kindness of 



INTERVIEW WITH THE PATRIARCH. 



209 



Mr. Lieder, I have been privileged to have an interview with 
the patriarch of the Coptic Church, who, though residing in 
Cairo, is styled " Patriarch of Alexandria," and occupies the 
chair of St. Mark. He is chosen generally by lot, from the 
monks of the convent of St. Anthony, in the Eastern desert, 
near the Red Sea, and his jurisdiction extends over all Egypt 
and Abyssinia. In Nubia, the people are nearly all Moham- 
medans. The present patriarch is said to be well learned in 
ecclesiastical matters, particularly those relating to the con- 
troversies and disputes, in which the East has always been 
rife ; but in respect to general information, I am sorry to say 
that his holiness knows no more than the bishops and clergy 
under him. The daily habits in which he is obliged to in- 
dulge, the listlessness, languor, idleness, and, as we should 
esteem it, inefficiency, of his life, are such as to cause one 
pain and deep regret, that the duties of a bishop are not bet- 
ter understood, and more earnestly performed, in Egypt. 
While I cannot bring myself to believe, that the informant 
of Mr. Lane is correct, in stating that the patriarch is guilty 
of manifest tyranny, corruption, and lust for money, and that 
the inferior clergy are little better than robbers and wolves to 
their flocks, and both ignorant and vicious to a lamentable 
degree ; # I must confess to you, that so far as appearances 
go, I have seen very little to impress me favorably with either 
clergy or people. The patriarch does not much else than sit 
and smoke, hour after hour, sleeping a portion of the day, and 
being obliged to be awake and watch all night. Excepting 
such duties as fall upon him, in connection with his metro- 
politan jurisdiction, and some few of a civil character, none 
of which are to be considered onerous, he passes his time in 
the manner to which I have alluded, going out only one day 
in the week, and never leaving his house save when he takes 
part in the services in church. Sermons or expositions of 
Holy Scripture, neither he nor any one ever composes ; and 

* See Lane's "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii. p. 351-374. 



210 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the thousand ways in which our bishops labor are unknown 
and unimagined by the dignitaries of that Church, which 
boasts of Athanasius as one of her great lights in other days, 
and claims St. Mark as her founder. When I had the honor 
of seeing the patriarch, some days ago, he received me very 
kindly, and invited me to a place near himself, on the eleva- 
ted diwan or raised seat, in the court of his residence. His 
personal appearance is not prepossessing ; he is a man of per- 
haps sixty years of age ; his face is heavy, dull, and, except 
when lighted up by excitement, rather stupid and unmeaning ; 
and, so far as I could gather from the conversation carried on 
by Mr. Lieder, and occasionally made clear to me, his holi- 
ness had no idea of America, asked no questions, and felt no 
interest in regard to its spiritual condition ; and had confined 
his mind to an extremely limited range of subjects. I found 
it quite as difficult to get any information from this quarter, 
as from any other, in regard to the number of the churches 
and Coptic Christians in Cairo. The patriarch said that there 
were thirty churches in and about the metropolis, but that, I 
know from other sources, is not correct, being greatly over- 
stated. Of the spiritual condition of this decayed branch of 
the Church, it would have been idle to have asked particulars, 
especially as what passed convinced me that the patriarch had 
not thought much on that point, and probably deemed it 
secondary to maintaining and increasing the power of the 
Church, and going precisely through the stated routine of 
forms and ceremonies. After a short time spent in rather 
unsatisfactory conversation, we took our leave, with, on my 
part, I confess, a feeling of considerable disappointment. 

When in Upper Egypt, you may recollect, I sent you a 
brief account of a visit paid to some Coptic churches, and at- 
tempted, I fear not very successfully, to describe one to you : 
as I felt great interest in this corrupt branch of the Catholic 
Church, I determined at some period to endeavor to be pres- 
ent at the public services, and see how nearly they assimi- 



SERVICES OF THE COPTIC CHURCH. 



211 



lated to what we know of those of the ancient Church. Un- 
til the Sunday just past, I had found no convenient oppor- 
tunity of attaining my desire ; but yesterday, the 18th, being 
the Fourth Sunday in Lent, I visited the church where the 
patriarch assists in the services, and was present during the 
long and to me tedious performance of their established ritual. 
I think you will not be displeased to have somewhat of a de- 
scription of what I witnessed on this occasion. 

The services commence at daybreak ; consequently, at 
about half-past five, A.M., accompanied by an intelligent 
young Abyssinian, who speaks French very tolerably, I went 
to the church. The entrance, like all which I have seen in 
Egypt, was through a narrow, winding passage, which gives 
one a mean idea of the edifice into which he is going. Seve- 
ral beggars, principally women and cripples, were stationed 
along the sides of the passage, and were very importunate 
for alms. On entering the first compartment, I found quite 
a number of the poorer people already assembled, and was 
surprised to hear a loud buzzing noise of persons talking 
throughout the church, walking to and fro, and appearing to 
have very little reverence for the building in which they were. 
The floor was covered with matting, and occasionally pieces 
of carpeting; and I noticed that every one who came in took 
off his slippers, and, placing them sole to sole, as the Mo- 
hammedans do in the mosks, continued barefoot during the 
entire service. The divisions and ornaments of the interior 
of the church, were nearly the same as I mentioned in speak- 
ing of my visit to Es-Siout. The first and second compart- 
ments were devoted to the uses of the congregation generally, 
the women being in a place by themselves, entirely discon- 
nected with that used by the men. The church appeared to 
me to be nearly square, with a deep recess at the end, oppo- 
site the entrance, containing the chancel, altar, &c, and 
separated from the rest of the edifice by a close partition, 
rather handsomely inlaid with ivory, and other substances, 



212 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Various pictures — if so I may call these miserable daubs — 
are affixed to the walls in different places, and over the chan- 
cel partition are representations of the Saviour and the Apos- 
tles. As in the Greek Church, pictures are allowed to any 
extent, but images of every description are positively prohib- 
ited. The light is admitted by some small grated windows 
above, about fifty feet from the floor of the church. This 
arrangement is effected so as to give the church very much 
the appearance of possessing a clerestory, since the height of 
the ceiling is by no means equal, and near the sides of the 
building is comparatively low and supported by pillars. At 
this early hour, however, there were a great number of can- 
dles burning, the chandelier was lighted, the large candles on 
the altar were burning, and no dependence was placed on the 
light derived from the windows above. During the whole 
service, which lasted several hours, the priests, attendants, 
readers, &c, used the small tapers, partly for symbolic pur- 
poses, but more commonly for to throw light sufficient to read 
by, upon the copies of the Gospels which are read on these 
occasions. The robes of the priests who officiated in the 
heykei or chancel, as well as those of the youthful attendants, 
were meant to be, and probably were once handsome ; but as 
they were now quite dirty, and very carelessly put on, they 
appeared to me rather shabby than otherwise : the other 
priests, who were stationed apparently without any regard to 
order, near the chancel door or in its vicinity, were in nowise 
to be distinguished by their dress, from the members of their 
congregation ; neither had the patriarch anything peculiar to 
his office, so far as his garments were concerned, which were 
precisely the same as he had on when I saw him some days 
ago. 

As I was known to be a priest, my young Abyssinian 
friend conducted me through the compartments to the front 
of the chancel, and near the patriarch's chair, where, pro- 
vided with a seat which he brought for the purpose, I could 



COPTIC MODE OF WORSHIP. 



213 



observe all that was going on. Every person, when he came 
into the church, went first to the chancel door, prostrated 
himself there towards the altar, and touching his lips to one 
side of the entrance, bowed, crossed himself, and kissed the 
hand of one or more of the priests stationed in this compart- 
ment. After the patriarch had entered and taken his seat, 
the same ceremonies were performed towards him, — a fact 
which I was pained to learn, since, however the former might 
be excused, as done with reference to Him whose altar they 
were bowing before, the latter seemed to have no palliation, 
and tended to superstition in its worst form. A part of the 
time the congregation sat, cross-legged, on the floor, but dur- 
ing the most of the service they were obliged to stand, and 
then, I observed, very many of them used a crutch to support 
themselves : it is a simple cane, about four feet and a half 
long, and having across the top a piece of wood perhaps eight 
inches in length. Much confusion and disorder prevail in 
the church, and I can well believe that it is, as Mr. Lane 
asserts, often the case that great indecorum, and even pro- 
fanity, may be seen and heard in the patriarchal church in 
Cairo : there is constant moving about of persons, particularly 
boys and the church attendants ; often some one will cry out 
quite loud, in angry and irreverent tones, and I several times 
heard one or two of the priests give directions in a style and 
manner exceedingly unsuited to the house of God. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the Coptic is a dead lan- 
guage, and not understood by either priests or people, the 
major part of the service is performed in it, particularly the 
Communion service ; as respects the Gospels and Homilies 
which are read in the church, after the reader has gone over 
them in Coptic, another person, standing in the doorway of 
the compartment before the chancel, reads or chants the les- 
sons or explanations in Arabic, the vernacular tongue of the 
people at the present day. There is a good deal of this mo- 
notonous chanting, and some loud singing and beating of 



214 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



cymbals, and occasionally a procession of one or more priests 
and attendants through the church, carrying a censer, and 
putting the hand of blessing upon the heads of the congrega- 
tion. When the patriarch entered, which was about half- 
past six o'clock, he was preceded by several persons, one 
bearing a large torch composed of three lights, and another 
carrying his staff, which was — rather singularly, as it ap- 
peared to me — Moses's rod, and not the pastoral staff of the 
episcopal office. In his hand he held a small Greek cross of 
gold, with which he made the sign of the cross over those 
who prostrated themselves before him, and which he held out 
to the priests and others to kiss on these occasions. As a 
great part of the service was unintelligible to me, being in 
Coptic and 'Arabic, I am not able to give any account of its 
character, further than to state, that it appeared to me to 
have much repetition, and, as in Romish churches, to be in 
great measure a dead letter; few seemed to be in any wise 
affected by solemn feelings, or to derive any fresh incitement 
to leave off sin, and follow hard after righteousness. Many 
used their beads, just as the Mohammedans and Romanists 
do, and fairly gabbled over the same words for fifty or a 
hundred times, with the utmost speed, and very little atten- 
tion to their meaning. The acolyths, and attendants, went 
through with their duties as unceremoniously as possible, and 
behaved generally in quite an unseemly manner. 

During the Communion service, as a special favor, I was 
admitted within the chancel recess, and had an opportunity, 
to witness the consecration of the elements, and the mode of 
administering the Lord's Supper. The bread, which is in 
the shape of a round cake, about three quarters of an inch 
thick, and about three inches in diameter, is placed on a 
gilded or gold dish, which has a napkin laid across the bot- 
tom : the wine is contained in a cup or vessel placed in the 
top of a small cabinet, made of wood, about ten inches broad 
by fifteen high, and the priest, who had a number of napkins 



THE COMMUNION SERVICE IN COPTIC. 



215 



of different colors laid near each hand, standing in front of 
the altar, with his back to the people, went through a very 
long consecration service in Coptic, frequently bowing and 
prostrating himself, and not venturing to touch the bread 
with his hands, except in one or two instances. I could not 
see that the wine was included in the service of consecration, 
for nearly all the time of the priest was spent over the bread, 
and once or twice he dipped it in the vessel of wine, which 
remained in its receptacle. During this long service, the 
priest rested a few times, but was not allowed to sit down, 
and in the interval, several bells were rung, and cymbals 
struck, together with a loud monotonous chant kept up, 
which indeed is the custom throughout the entire Sunday 
services. There were several boys of different ages who 
assisted the priest in various ways, but principally by hold- 
ing lighted tapers near the place where the elements were, 
and occasionally by chanting, in a high key, some sentences 
in Coptic, the only language allowed in the chancel. I was 
sorry to observe a great deal of noise and great want of rev- 
erence in these boys, who appeared to have no regard what- 
ever to the sacredness of the matters in which they were 
engaged. I was still more grieved, and almost shocked, to 
see and hear the priest — a hard-featured, and not pleasant- 
looking man — scold and threaten the boys, who now and 
then annoyed him, in words and tones which were disgrace- 
ful a t such time and in such place. The mode of adminis- 
tering the consecrated elements was peculiar : the priest first 
broke the cake into a number of small pieces, dipped them 
one at a time in the wine, and began by putting a piece into 
the mouth of a very little boy, with a taper in his hand, and 
then into the mouths of the other boy-attendants ; he after- 
wards went out into the church, and administered in the 
same manner to the congregation. 

Shortly afterward, and just before the people were dismiss- 
ed, I took my leave, having been in the church rather more 



216 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



than four hours, and being very much fatigued with the length 
and monotony of the services. I will confess to you that I 
was disappointed with what I saw and heard, and am not 
able to express any very great hopes of the increase of pure 
religion among the Copts, while their public services are so 
apparently inoperative and listened to and joined in so much 
as a mere matter of form. But I express this opinion with 
no particular confidence, since I do not esteem myself suffi- 
ciently acquainted with the people and their actual condition, 
to judge accurately. Perhaps time, and the influence of the 
labors of missionaries among them, may produce all that we 
could hope or desire.* 

Having spoken above of the Coptic patriarch, a person of 
some note in the East, you will perhaps allow me to say a 
word or two of some other residents of Cairo, who occupy po- 
sitions of no little importance in public estimation. The old 
pasha, Mohammed Ali, I have seen a number of times, rid- 
ing past our hotel and through some of the streets which are 
wide enough to admit of the passage of carriages : he is evi- 
dently in his dotage, takes but little notice of things in gene- 

* It may not be unacceptable here to quote Mr. Lane's estimate of the popu- 
lation of Egypt in general, among which are included the various bodies of 
Christians. His view is that the whole amount of population is " less than 



2,000,000." 

Muslim Egyptians (fellahin and towns-people) . 1,750,000 

Christian " (Copts) . . . . . 150,000 

Osmanlis, or Turks 10,000 

Syrians i 5,000 

Greeks . 5,000 

Armenians . 2,000 

Jews 5,000 



Western Arabs, Nubians, Negroes, Franks, &c, (about) 70,000 

In Cairo he estimates the Mohammedans, about 190,000 ; the Copts, about 
10,000 ; the Jews, 3000 or 4000 ; strangers from various countries, about 36,000. 
In the times of the Pharaohs, Egypt appears to have had a population of about 
7,000,000 ; and Mr. Lane is of opinion that the country could readily yield 
enough, under proper care and cultivation, to support 8,000,000 inhabitants. — 
See " Modern Egyptians" vol. i. pp. 30, 31. 



MOHAMMED ALI AND HIS FAMILY. 217 

ral, and is as capricious as a spoiled child : his attendants and 
suite go with him wherever his fancy may suggest, and hardly 
a day passes without their being on the move to and fro, be- 
tween the palaces and other places of resort. The old man's 
energy is all gone and he knows nothing of what is going on, 
and takes no interest in those matters to which his whole life 
of ambition has been devoted. I shall not here pretend to 
enlarge upon his career, or that of his step-son Ibrahim Pasha ; 
tyrants they were both, undoubtedly, according to our view 
of the correlative duties of ruler and subject ; and many are 
the acts of treachery, wrong and outrage, recorded on the 
page of history against them ; but if we judge them by the 
standard of the country and people over which they ruled, 
we shall find occasion to mitigate very much the severe cen- 
sure which rightly attaches to a large part of their public and 
private acts ; and if we consider how much real advantage 
has resulted to Christians and strangers from the desire Mo- 
hammed Ali had of cultivating European customs and intro- 
ducing European improvements into Egypt, we shall be dis- 
posed to rejoice at the good which has sprung out of evil and 
too often corrupt motives. Much, very much has already 
been written by both French and English authors, respecting 
these two remarkable men ; and I am well convinced that 
you can spare any lucubrations of mine on the subject. 
Abbas Pasha, however, the present ruler of Egypt, may be 
thought worthy of a sentence or two. He is the son of 
Toosoom Pasha, the eldest and favorite son of Mohammed 
Ali ; and a short time ago he went to Constantinople to be 
invested by the Sultan with the pashalic of Egypt. There, 
it appears, they had discovered and understood what he is, 
and though treated with a great deal of outward attention, he 
was in reality shabbily used, and obliged to put up with things 
that would have roused all the ire of his grandfather. His 
character may be "summed up in few words ; he is a mix- 
ture of the bigot, fool and debauchee : he has none of the 

10 



218 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



talent of his grandfather, and all the concentrated dislike and 
ignorance of foreigners which belong to the most fanatical of 
his countrymen. His career, thus far, has been short and 
inglorious, and his measures — if they may be dignified with 
the name — have done him no credit, and involved him in dis- 
putes with the representatives of nearly every foreign power 
resident at his court. That he has his good points I should be 
the last to deny, and some steps which he took with reference 
to certain aged but disgraced public men under the former 
pasha, have given evidence of capabilities for better things ; 
but alas, there is no dependence to be placed upon such 
trifles, light as air, when the general tenor of his life and 
principles is corrupt, unjust and unworthy his elevated posi- 
tion. How true are the prophetic words, and how often have 
they recurred to my mind since I have been in Egypt, — " it 
shall be the basest of kingdoms it shall sink low and be- 
come mean and degraded, and shall no more have a prince of 
its own to rule over it : " which," as says a learned divine, 
" hath accordingly come to pass ; for not long after the expi- 
ration of the said forty years (Ezek. xxix. 13), the Egyptians 
were made a province of the Persian empire, they became 
subject to the Macedonians, and after them to the Romans, 
and after the Romans to the Saracens, and then to the Mam- 
elukes, and are now a province of the Turkish empire."f 

Speaking of Abbas Pasha, recalls to my recollection the 
events of Saturday last, the 17th instant, when the newly 
appointed American consul-general, Mr. Macauley, was form- 
ally presented in his official character, to his highness, the 
Pasha. It was a beautiful day, and the scene from the win- 
dows of the " Hotel d'Orient," where Mr. M. is at present, 
was unique and striking. About ten o'clock, there had ar- 
rived a half-battalion of troops, sent as an escort, who paraded 
in front of the hotel in very creditable style, and had a band 

* Ezek. xxix. 15; see xxx. 13. 

f Prideaux's " Oldand New Testament Connected," vol. i. p. 110, Am. Ed. 1836. 



PRESENTATION OF MR. MACAULEY. 



219 



of music which would not disgrace the martial arrangements 
of any country. The costume of the troops is peculiar, but 
not unhandsome ; the red tarbush, the white cotton dress, 
the red slippers, the dark-brown skins of the soldiers, and 
their neat accoutrements in general, formed rather marked 
points in the view : and when, besides, the eye glanced over 
the motley group of lookers-on, of all classes and descriptions, 
with the Esbekiyeh behind, serving as an apt relief to the 
foreground, it was impossible not to be interested in, and 
pleased with, this panoramic illustration of oriental life and 
manners. Mr. Macauley was desirous of making the pre- 
sentation as imposing as possible, and for this purpose had 
invited Captain Gwynne and the officers of the U. S. frigate 
Constitution, lying at Alexandria, as well as all the Ameri- 
cans in Cairo, to be present and go in procession to the Citadel. 
Quite a goodly number assembled : the consuls of other pow- 
ers paid Mr. M. their respects, the troops took up the line of 
march, and the consul-general and his countrymen, in car- 
riages, followed slowly on. This was about eleven o'clock ; 
but so crowded was the Mooskee, the main thoroughfare, and 
so much curiosity was there manifested to get sight of the 
strangers, that it took us more than an hour to reach the 
Citadel : occasionally, too, on the road, some bright eyes and 
pretty faces would be seen from the half open harim windows, 
their curiosity getting the better of their prudence. On ar- 
riving at the palace, there was a strange scene of confusion, 
crowding and jostling, to get into the reception room, and for 
a time, I was not sure but that the consul-general and his 
countrymen would be completely excluded from the presence 
of the Pasha. By pushing and knocking about for a while, 
however, we all succeeded in getting in. The room is large, 
of oblong shape, has a beautifully painted ceiling, and high 
diwans upon three sides. In the centre of the diwan, oppo- 
site the entrance, was perched a short, obese figure, with not 
a bad, though rather brutified face, and apparently about 



220 



• 4, 

EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



thirty-five years old. As I looked at him, I felt that it would 
be a sorry matter to be within his power, if one should have 
happened to come across his path of lust and sensuality. Mr. 
Macauley was conducted to the right of the Pasha, who got 
down from his seat, and made an awkward sort of bow on his 
entrance. Both the Pasha and all present remained standing 
while he received the firman of the Sultan, touched it with 
his lips, raised it reverentially to his forehead, and then handed 
it over to an attendant officer. Mr. Todd, the consul, Capt. 
Gwynne, and others of less note, occupied positions near Mr. 
Macauley, on the same side : poor I got off on the left, among 
a number of persons as insignificant and unnoticed as myself. 
Immediately after we were seated, a number of eunuchs and 
slaves, dressed, for a wonder, in coats and pantaloons, brought 
in pipes with jewelled mouth-pieces, and coffee, presenting 
the Pasha with his, on bended knee. The honor of a pipe 
and cup of coffee, however, was confined to a few, even, of 
the dignitaries present, which I thought rather queer hospi- 
tality. Mr. Macauley made a short speech in French, which 
was translated to the Pasha by his interpreter, a fine-looking 
fellow. Abbas succeeded in getting out a compliment or two ; 
but anything like the tact and skill of Mohammed Ali, in 
conversation, was too deep for him. So, after a rather ridic- 
ulous silence, for some little time, he sent for the present he 
intended to bestow on the consul-general. It was a handsome 
sword or sabre, which was put on Mr. M., in presence of the 
Pasha ; and, together with the horse outside, was bestowed 
on the representative of America, in a pretty little speech, 
made by the interpreter. Another half French bow was 
graciously given to Mr. M. and party, after which we took 
our leave, partly vexed, but more inclined to be amused, at 
the way in which the thing had gone off. Altogether, it was 
an insipid affair, and did not tend to raise Abbas Pasha in 
our estimation. Nor do I think that he would have felt 
particularly complaisant to our countrymen and others, could 



E. W. LANE, ESQ.., AND FAMILY. 



221 



he have heard the free, and not altogether complimentary re- 
marks which were made about him, at Mr. Macauley's levee, 
that afternoon. However, let me not condemn him without 
reserve : he is but an agent in the hands of greater men, 
whose thoughts are turned towards Egypt, and who, when 
the time comes, will sweep' him away, and all that belongs 
to him, without a moment's hesitation. The Christian man, 
too, cannot doubt, that both he, and they who use him, are 
only instruments in the hands of God, for carrying out His 
designs with reference to the East, as well as the West : and 
if I may venture to speak of what is yet future, I may ex- 
press the decided conviction, that the day is fast approaching 
when Mohammedanism will sink into nothingness, and pass 
away, and the Gospel of Christ will resume its supremacy 
over those fair and fertile regions, so long groaning under the 
yoke of heresy and schism, and the foul imposture of Mo- 
hammed. May it soon be, "that the Word of the Lord may 
have free course, and be glorified."* 

It would be unjust in a high degree, and wholly contrary 
to my own feelings, not to speak of one whom I am proud 
to have the honor of knowing, and who is no less distin- 
guished as an author and profound orientalist, than a man 
of liberal, large mind and heart. You know, my dear S., 
my tastes and habits, and you can well understand what 
pleasure it was to me to visit and spend many an hour at 
the house of Mr. Lane, where I enjoyed the delights of social 
and literary intercourse in their fullest extent. Rarely have 
I met with a learned man so interesting and so attractive, 
so full of matter, and so wholly free from pedantry and as- 
sumption ; and were it allowed to speak of those things 
which I know and feel, but which belong rather to the sa- 
credness of private intercourse, I might tell you much of the 
increased pleasure afforded me by having become acquainted 
with Mrs. Lane, Mrs. Poole, (Mr. Lane's sister, and author 
* 2 Thess. iii. 1. 



222 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of the " Englishwoman in Egypt,") and her two sons, noble 
and interesting youths as they are. But I will not presume 
to enlarge upon a point like this ; it may suffice to mention, 
in this place, that Mr. Lane's great work, the Arabic and 
English Lexicon, is still unfinished, and it will be probably 
two years before it can be looked for from the press. His 
nephew, Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, bids fair to be among 
the first Egyptologers of the present age, a fact which I am 
the more gratified at communicating from knowing, as I do, 
his conscientious and firm convictions of the truth and Divine 
authority of Holy Scripture. May all under that roof be 
long spared to discharge rightly the high and holy duties of 
their rank and calling ! 

And now, my dear S., the hour of our departure from 
Cairo draws nigh. We have looked, for the last time, upon 
many of the scenes of which I have so feebly spoken in for- 
mer letters ; we have made all our arrangements, got our 
camels and our multifarious luggage in readiness, bade 
adieu to our friends, and to-morrow, if God will, we set out 
for the Holy Land. As, on this last evening of our stay in 
Cairo, I look back upon what we have seen, and call to mind 
what we have thought, I cannot but recollect good old Ful- 
ler's energetic and wise words : " The sins of the Eastern 
countries, and chiefly their damnable heresies, hastened God's 
judgments upon them. In these Western parts, heresies, 
like an angle, caught single persons, which in Asia, like a 
drag-net, took whole provinces."* I feel, too, that there is 
not much hope at present for Egypt, so far as our eye can 
see into the dim, unknown future. " There is a gleam in 
the sky, as if the light of civilization were about to rise, but, 
like the false dawn in India, it will fade away, and deeper 
darkness will succeed. Yet the true dawn will come at last, 
and brighten into perfect day ; and then, and not till then, 
will Egypt, Christian Egypt, rise from the dust, and resume 

* Fuller's 11 Holy Warre," bk. i. ch. 6. 



EGYPT PAST AND PRESENT. 



223 



her seat among the nations."* As she is now, I know not 
more apt and fitting words to tell her story in, than those of 
that quiet but deep thinker, Sir Thomas Browne, in whose 
quaint but striking language let me say farewell to the land 
of the Pharaohs : — " Of their living habitations they made 
little account, conceiving of them but as hospitia, or inns, 
while they adorned the sepulchres of the dead, and planting 
thereon lasting bases, defied the crumbling touches of time, 
and the misty vaporousness of oblivion. Yet all were but 
Babel vanities ! Time sadly overcometh all things, and is 
now dominant, and sitteth on a Sphinx, and looketh upon 
Memphis and old Thebes ; while his sister, Oblivion, reclin- 
eth demi-somnous on a pyramid, gloriously triumphing, mak- 
ing puzzles of Titanian erections, and turning old glories into 
dreams. History sinketh beneath her cloud. The traveller, 
as he paceth amazedly through those deserts, asketh of her, 
who builded them ? and she mumble th something, but what 
it is he heareth not. Egypt itself is now become the land of 
obliviousness, and doteth. Her ancient civility is gone, and 
her glory hath vanished as a phantasma. Her youthful days 
are over, and her face hath become wrinkled and tetrick. 
She poreth not upon the Heavens ; Astronomy is dead unto 
her, and Knowledge maketh other Cycles. Canopus is afar 
off, Memnon resoundeth not to the sun, and Nilus heareth 
strange voices. Her monuments are but hieroglyphically 
sempiternal. Osiris and Anubis, her averruncous deities, 
have departed, while Orus yet remains, dimly shadowing the 
principle of vicissitude and the effluxion of things, but receiv- 
eth little oblation. "t 

* Lord Lindsay's " Letters on Egypt" &c. p. 34. 

t " Works of Sir Thomas Browne," vol. iv. p. 276 —London, 1846. 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



" Thy holy cities are a wilderness, 
Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 
Our holy and our beautiful house, 
Where our fathers praised thee, 
Is burned up with fire ; 
And all our pleasant things are laid waste." 

" Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen." 

" Egypt shall be a desolation, 
And Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. 
For the violence against the children of Judah, 
Because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 
But Judah shall dwell forever, 
And Jerusalem from generation to generation." 

" They shall call thee, The City of the Lord, 
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 
Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, 
So that no man went through thee, 
I will make thee an eternal excellency, 
A joy of many generations." 

" The Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the Holy Land, 
And shall choose Jerusalem again." 

Isaiah lxiv. 10 ; iii. 8 ; Joel iii. 19, 20 ; Is. lx. 15 ; Zech. ii. 12. 



LETTER XII. 

3LUz In t i) c 33esert. 

Delights of a Lazaretto.— Oar Original Plan determined on.— The Short Route.— Number of 
our Party.— The Camel. — How arranged for Riding. — Peculiarities of this Sort of Locomo- 
tion. — Its Pleasures and Pains. — A Day's Scenes and Occurrences described. — The Punish- 
ment of the Rebellious Jews. — What is Seen and Felt in the Desert. — Our Route by El 
Arish. — Land of Goshen. — Locusts. — El Kanka. Tel Jehudieh, Belbeis. Salahieh, &c. — 
Arrival at El Arish.— Enter Asia.— Route to Gaza. — Quarantine.— The Town or City.— No 
Opportunity to Visit it, — Vexatious Loss of Time. 

Gaza, Lazaretto. April 2d, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

The annoying, and in some respects, absurd quarantine 
regulations of various parts of the Ottoman empire, having 
put a stop to our travels for nearly a week past, I embrace 
the opportunity thus afforded of giving you some account of 
what has transpired since I last addressed you from the me- 
tropolis of Egypt. I say nothing of the delights of a laza- 
retto, where you have the chance not only of catching the 
plague or any other disease which may be on hand,* but are 
exposed to the fierce assaults of armies of flies, mosquitoes, 
fleas, and other vermin not named in polite society, and are 
stopped without reason and put to expense without compunc- 
tion, though Egypt is perfectly healthy, and we all are as 
well as men can be, after the fatigues of crossing the desert. 
Of these things poets have sung and eloquent writers have 
discoursed : I being neither the one nor the other, shall leave 

*" Quarantine has been justly defined 'imprisonment.' with the chance of 
catching the plague. 1 ' — i; Hand Book for Egypt." Introd. p. xxiii, 



228 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



them here unrelated, as I cannot speak of them with any 
patience, and am too keenly sensible of the annoyances here 
suffered, to dwell upon them a moment longer than I can 
help. You can imagine all that I might say, though it 
would be less than the reality, and has deprived us of the 
inestimable privilege of spending the entire Holy Week in the 
Holy City. Were it not that no power can prevent my writing 
to you, my dear S., I should feel disposed to anathematize 
the very name of quarantine for the rest of my life ; but as 
it is, I shall try to forget some of our troubles in telling you 
of our wanderings during the past twelve or thirteen days. 

Originally, it formed a part of our plan to enter Syria at 
another point, after visiting Mount Sinai and other localities 
connected with the history of the Jews. I felt a deep inter- 
est in the questions which have been so ably discussed in 
some recent publications, respecting the passage of the Red 
Sea and the true Mount Sinai ; and I was desirous of inves- 
tigating on the spot, several points, which appear to me to 
settle the matter, so far as Jebel Mousa is concerned, and to 
verify the very ancient tradition in favor of the mountain, 
which is generally thought to be that on which the Lord God 
descended and held converse with His servant Moses. But, 
much to my regret, circumstances prevented our taking this 
route, and we determined upon crossing the desert by way 
of El Arish : this route has the advantage of being much 
shorter and of course less fatiguing than that by way of 
Mount Sinai ; and if I may judge by my experience of ten 
days' steady riding on a camel, gives one quite as much as he 
desires of life in the desert. 

Our rather extensive preparations having been completed, 
we left Cairo on the afternoon of March 20th, and proceed- 
ing as far as Matarieh, the ancient Heliopolis or On of the 
Scriptures, we halted for the night, and were the next day 
joined by the Rev. Dr. Wainwright and Mr. R. B. Minturn, 
of New York, with whom it has been our privilege to travel 



PREPARATION FOR THE DESERT. 



229 



across the desert. We had nine camels, five of which were 
used for luggage and the multifarious provision necessary for 
a journey of this kind ; our friends and fellow-pilgrims had 
eight, and were provided in much the same manner with our- 
selves, with dragoman, cook, tent, canteens, &c. Beside 
our own forces, we had a volunteer who kept us company 
with his dromedary, and at night numbers of pilgrims, from 
India by way of Mecca, took up their quarters in our vicinity, 
feeling a degree of safety in being near to Franks in the 
desert. All together, we numbered four gentlemen, two 
dragomans, two cooks, eight Arabs and a boy to lead and at- 
tend to the camels ; and as you may suppose, we presented a 
rather imposing and formidable appearance, as our long train 
wound its devious way through the waste and dreary wilder- 
ness of Shur. As desert life has some points of interest as 
well as novelty, I presume you will like to have such idea 
as I may be able to give of it in brief compass, and also, to 
know something of the route by which we have entered the 
Holy Land. 

The most striking feature in this sort of life, is certainly 
the peculiar mode of travelling which one has to undergo on 
a camel's back. This animal, which seems to have been fitted 
in every respect by nature for the uses to which it is applied, 
is variously esteemed by different persons. Some speak of 
its " gentle and womanish ways" and the love which the trav- 
eller soon learns to feel for its companionship ; others term it 
a heavy, stupid creature, constantly complaining, and possess- 
ing no sensibility or emotions of any sort worth noticing ; # 

* Kinglake, the author of "Eothen," with more of fancy than truth, speaks 
in this style of this invaluable animal in the desert : " The camel kneels to re- 
ceive her load, and for a while she will allow the packing to go on with silent 
resignation, but when she begins to suspect that her master is putting more 
than a just burthen upon her poor hump, she turns round her supple neck, and 
looks sadly upon the increasing load, and then gently remonstrates against the 
wrong with the sigh of a patient wife ; if sighs will not move you, she can 
weep ; you soon learn to pity, and soon to love her, for the sake of her gentle 
and womanish ways." (P. 136.) Dr. Robinson talks in a much more practical 



230 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



many are fatigued excessively with the motion so unlike any- 
thing else in the world ; and many, finding it very much 
easier than they expected, are delighted with it from its nov- 
elty, and break forth into praises of the camel and camel rid- 
ing. For myself, I must say that I had anticipated great 
hardship, much greater than experience warranted. I had 
often in Cairo, and various parts of Egypt, looked with special 
interest upon the trains of camels which I had seen, and had 
endeavored to get as good an idea as I could of the effect which 
their rather awkward gait was likely to produce upon per- 
sons like myself not very well fitted for undergoing great fa- 
tigue ; but it was not till I had actually mounted and had 
tried several days' travel, that I understood what a camel is, 
and what a serious undertaking it is for an invalid to get 
upon his back with a long journey before him. In general, I 
have found it very hard work, but as I did not suffer in the 
way that I had anticipated or to the extent to which I had 
been led to suppose, I cannot in justice speak of it as either 
unendurable, or on the whole unpleasant. 

The Arabian camel, as yon know, has a large hump upon 
his back,* which would seem to forbid the idea of attempting 
to mount him. To obviate this difficulty, a large pack saddle 
of straw is fitted on his back, so as to raise his sides, so to 
speak, to the level of his hump : on top of this saddle a wood- 
en frame-work is placed, by means of which, loads of mer- 

manner, and, according to my experience, much more veraciously. The camel 
is " commonly represented as patient ; but if so, it is the patience of stupidity. 
They are rather exceedingly impatient, and utter loud cries of indignation when 
receiving their loads, and not seldom, on being made to kneel down. They are 

also obstinate, and frequently vicious At all times, the camel eats and 

drinks little, and secretes little ; he is a cold-blooded, heavy, sullen animal 

having little feeling, and little susceptibility for pain There is nothing 

graceful or sprightly in any camel, old or young ; all is misshapen, ungainly, 
and awkward." — " Biblical Researches" vol. ii. pp. 633, 634. 

* The Bactrian species has two hunches or humps, one on the shoulders, and 
the other on the croup. His height is said to be considerably greater than that 
of the Arabian camel. 



CAMEL RIDING IN GENERAL. 



231 



chandise are secured upon the camel, or heavy panniers are 
hung upon its sides. The arrangement for riding is a little 
different ; the wooden frame has two short, round pieces of 
wood, reaching up in front about eight inches and the same 
in the rear, making a surface or saddle for the rider about two 
feet in length between these short posts : here are placed cush- 
ions, or something of the sort, on which the traveller sits, and 
the pieces of wood, both before and behind, prevent his sliding 
backwards or forwards, and often save him from falling off of 
the camel's back. I may mention here, that the animals 
trained for riding are usually termed dromedaries, but are in 
no other respect distinguishable from the ordinary camels. 
Well, then, the dromedary having been properly fitted for 
your use, you make your first essay in mounting. Unlike a 
horse, as well in beauty as in speed and intelligence, the 
camel stands too high to be mounted by means of stirrups ; 
consequently, it is compelled to kneel and bring its huge 
body nearer your own level before you can get upon its back. 
The driver standing at its head, makes a singular clicking 
or gurgling sound in his throat, which the animal under- 
stands, and after a few moments and some growls of discon- 
tent, falls upon the knees of its fore legs, then bends its hind 
legs partly under its body, and finishes by stretching out its 
fore legs upon the ground, and remaining thus, its belly touch- 
ing the sand, as long as may be wanted. In this position it 
is easy to mount, and being fairly astride, the camel gets up 
again. It first raises its hind legs, and then scrambles up on 
its fore legs. The effect of this, as you perceive, is to give 
you a sudden pitch forwards and almost as sudden a pitch 
back again to a level position : unless you are very careful 
and have got perfectly secure on your seat, you are almost 
certain to be thrown over the camel's head (as I was on one 
occasion) which is no trifling matter, I can assure you. In 
general, persons ride without stirrups, but we thought that 
they would prove serviceable in resting our legs, which, other- 



232 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



wise, would be dangling all day without any relief. Con- 
sequently, we had these useful articles attached to the fore 
part of our wooden saddle, and found them very excellent for 
the purpose intended. At first you are apt to feel that your 
position is rather too elevated for comfort, and it is not to be 
wondered at if you look somewhat anxiously at the height 
from the ground, and think very seriously of the chances of 
a broken head, or neck, it may be, in case you are pitched 
off unawares. But a little experience reconciles you entirely 
to this arrangement, and when you have spent ft hot day in 
the desert, where on the sand the heat is intolerable, but on 
the camel's back there is usually a nice and free circulation 
of air, you feel the value of a lofty elevation like this, and 
are glad, at any price, to purchase some exemption from the 
power of the burning sun. All being ready, the camel- 
driver leads the dromedary forward, and you immediately 
find that the motion produced by its long strides and peculiar 
gait, is by far the most singular of anything you have ever 
experienced. Now you pitch forward, now backward, now 
sideways, and now you have a movement consisting of a mix- 
ture of all three. For a while you are in great terror of 
falling off, and grasp the pommels, if so I may term them, 
of the wooden saddle with desperate earnestness ; and if 
your head is not good or you are easily affected with nausea, 
you may feel something of what is commonly called sea-sick- 
ness : ladies, I have been told, not unfrequently • suffer in 
this way. But supposing that you escape this mishap, you 
are some little time before you dare look around you, or try 
to enjoy the novel scene. You still feel suspicious ; you are 
uneasy at the growling and unpleasant noises of the camels ; 
you do not yet understand the habits of the animal, and you 
suspect that some dreadful accident will most certainly occur 
before you are through with the matter. By and by, too, 
your back begins to ache, and you find this perpetual see-saw 
sort of motion, which is not discontinued for a moment, so 



ITS PLEASURES AND PAINS. 



233 



unnatural and so hard upon the muscles of that part of the 
body, that you are soon fatigued and soon convinced that you 
can never endure it for any great length of time. And when 
towards evening you dismount, running the same risk of a 
fall as when you went through the operation of getting upon 
your camel's back, you ache all over so badly, your limbs are 
so stiff, and you are so completely fagged out, that you are 
ready to lie down almost in despair, and groan bitterly over 
the prospect before you. 

This is usually the first day's experience : on the second, 
you find camel riding more tolerable ; on the third, you be- 
come quite reconciled to it ; and subsequently, when you are 
entirely at home in your place, riding in any one of a half- 
dozen different positions which you may choose, forwards, 
backwards, sideways, cross-legged, and so on, and are so 
much at ease as to read comfortably, and even make notes 
as you go along, you get rather to like this kind of locomo- 
tion, and actually find that you can go through more on the 
back of a camel than on horseback ; you are convinced, too, 
that for a long journey, the former is preferable to the latter 
in many respects, and has advantages which cannot be at- 
tained in any other way. I do not mean, in speaking thus, 
to conceal from you the fact that I found it a tedious and 
wearisome thing thus to ride day after day, at so slow a 
rate. I will confess to you that I suffered not only from the 
ordinary discomforts of this sort of travelling, but was very 
much troubled with pain in my side, sometimes in one, some- 
times the other. I was but little satisfied to go at a pace of 
between two and two and a half miles per hour, which is the 
usual rate of a camel's walk ; and I felt the want of that 
pleasurable excitement which generally attends other and 
more common modes of travel. Hence, while the other gen- 
tlemen in our expedition, experienced much enjoyment in rid- 
ing on camels, I am obliged in candor to say, that, so far as 
I was concerned, I was not at all sorry when it was over, 



234 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



at least for the present, and shall not care particularly, ever 
again to resume this primitive mode of travelling. 

I do not think I am wrong in terming this the most strik- 
ing feature in life, in the desert ; yet you must not suppose 
that there are not other and many curious things con- 
nected with an entire abstraction from the world and its so- 
cial privileges, and a manner of living not very unlike that 
in which, we doubt not, the patriarchs of old passed their 
long and peaceful days. To illustrate what I would say, let 
me endeavor to describe to you the events of a day or two 
spent in the desert. 

We rose usually at day-break, so as to secure an early 
start in the pleasantest part of the day. Our toilet was very 
simple, it being enough if we could get our hands and faces 
clean ; our breakfast was equally simple and soon dispatched. 
Next came the packing up ; the tent was struck, the camels 
were made to kneel down and receive their loads, our drome- 
daries were arranged for riding, and in the course of an hour 
and a half, we took up our line of march. Under no cir- 
cumstances could we manage to save time here, where it 
was so important, for hurry as much as we chose, there were 
just so many camels to load, and just so much to do, and we 
found that it always took about the same amount of time to 
accomplish all this in ; consequently seven, or a little before, 
was our usual hour of starting. For a while, the tempera- 
ture was very delightful, and the bright sun, shining in all his 
glory, gave something of an air of animation even to the des- 
ert ; but towards noon, and during the middle hours of the 
day, the heat became at times well nigh unbearable ; and had 
it not been that almost always we had plenty of wind in our 
elevated positions on our dromedaries, I fear that besides hav- 
ing my face and hands burnt black, I, at least, should have 
suffered much more serious injury from exposure to the 
scorching rays of an African sun at this period of the year. 
Bat we did not stop on account of the heat, nor fortunately 



TRAVELLING IN THE DESERT. 



235 



were we impeded by any storms or any mishap of any kind : 
on we travelled, slowly, it is true, but steadily, not making 
much, but always doing something, our faces set towards the 
East, and our thoughts and hearts intent upon reaching the 
Holy City in time for the holy season which precedes the great 
and glorious festival of Easter. At one time, our way was 
through the soft deep sand, into which our poor beasts would 
sink over the hoofs and labor exceedingly in getting onwards ; 
at another, we came upon some level tracts, where the salt 
water had lain, but being dried up, there was now presented 
a curious appearance as the salt lay like scattered snow or 
ice upon the surface of the ground ; sometimes the surface 
of the desert was nearly a plain, covered with only here and 
there some prickly shrubs, clumps of bushes, stunted grass, 
&c., but, more generally, we met with low hills and valleys, 
and more variety and unevenness of ground than I had been led 
to expect. For miles and miles, on our right hand and on 
our left, we beheld vast, broad hills and mounds of fine, light, 
yellowish sand, which had drifted from one place to another 
just like snow drifts, and at every high wind, kept changing 
more or less its position ; and we coald not but be struck 
with the desolate and disheartening look which such a scene 
presented to' our eyes. The life and beauty which the culti- 
vated and fruitful regions of the earth offer to the admi- 
ration and gratitude of the beholder, are here extinct; and 
the spirit of man sinks within him, as he contemplates a 
prospect so terrible, were there no hope of escape from it, and 
so fearful, were he condemned to pass in such a spot the re- 
mainder of his days. As I gazed upon the desolate wilder- 
ness — the a-pMog tqrjpia f iEschylus — through which we 
travelled, I felt as never I had felt before, the severity of that 
punishment which the rebellious Jews brought upon them- 
selves ; and while riding slowly onward, or at night, in our 
tents, I read in my Bible of the wandering of the children of 
Israel with a deeper and clearer sense of the meaning of 



236 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



God's Holy Word than it had been my lot at any previous time 
to attain. How forcible appeared now the expressions of 
Scripture respecting what this stiff-necked people were com- 
pelled to undergo ! 

" A desert land . . . the waste howling wilderness." 

" That great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scor- 
pions, and drought, where there was no water." 
''Wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this 
evil place 1 It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pome- 
granates ; neither is there any water to drink." 
;; The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the 
people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye 
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness % for there is no 
bread, neither is there any water ; and our soul loatheth this light bread." 
" While the meat was yet in their mouths, 
The wrath of God came upon them, 
And slew the fattest of them, 
And smote down the chosen men of Israel. 

Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, 
And their years in trouble." 
" Neither said they, where is the Lord 
That brought us up out of the land of Egypt, 
That led us through the wilderness, 
Through a land of deserts and of pits, 
Through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, 
Through a land that no man passed through, 
And where no man dwelt ?"* 

Would God that there were such an heart in Christian 
people that they would ponder upon these things, and that 
they would consider and know that He will not at all spare 
the wicked, nor suffer to go unpunished the guilty nations who 
break His commandments or set at naught His holy will ! 

Towards mid-day, we usually halted for a short time to 
lunch and to give our camels an opportunity to browse awhile 
upon the prickly shrubs and stunted bushes which are found 
in considerable abundance nearly everywhere in the desert. 

*Deut. xxxii. 10; viii. 15; Numb. xx. 5; xxi, 4,5; Ps. Ixxviii. 31, 33; Jer. 
ii. 6. 



SCENES IN THE "WILDERNESS. 



237 



We would, on such occasions, spread our seggadeh upon the 
clean sand, and Antonio having set before us a cold chicken, 
or something of the sort, with some dates, oranges, &c, we 
would enjoy our repast as well as the burning sun "would ad- 
mit, and would quench our thirst, as best we might, with 
the dark reddish colored water which was carried in leathern 
buckets attached to our camels' sides. Remounting a^am, 
we pressed onward with renewed vigor ; now, one after anoth- 
er new or strange thing met our view. Here and there, we 
beheld some groves of palms which looked doubly refreshing 
and attractive in the midst of the waste and dreary desert on 
all sides : occasionally some dome-covered tomb of a sheikh or 
Mohammedan saint, served to add variety to the scene : very 
frequently, we came upon the carcasses and bones of some 
poor camels which had dropped down with fatigue or thirst, 
and had been abandoned to the vulture and beasts of prev 
that watch unceasingly the track of caravans in the desert : 
and at such times we thought of the touching lines of the 
poet : — 

;: In silent horror o'er the boundless waste 
The driver Hassan with his camels past ; 
One cruise of water on his back he bore, 
And his light scrip contained a scanty store ; 
The sultry sun hath gain'd the middle sky, 
And not a tree, and not an herb was nigh ; 
Shrill roar'd the winds, and dreary was the view ! 



" ' Ye mute companions of my toils, that bear 
In all my griefs a more than equal share ! 
Here, where no springs in murmurs break away. 
Or moss-crowned fountains mitigate the day. 
In vain ye hope the green delights to know, 
Which plains more blest, or verdant vales, bestow ; 
Here rocks alone, and tasteless sands are found. 
And faint and sickly winds forever howl around. 
Sad was the hour, and luckless was the day. 
When first from Shiraz' walls I bent my way ! ! "* 



* Collins's " Hassan, or the Camel Driver/' 



238 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



At one time, we saw the desert quails, some small birds, liz- 
ards, and several of that beautiful and most graceful animal 
the gazelle, who, with ears erect and bright glancing eyes, 
looked timidly at us for a few moments, and then bounded 
fleetly off to a place of greater security ; at another, not a 
vestige of life was visible, all was silent as the grave and 
gloomy as the sepulchres of the dead, and our spirits sank 
within us, and we longed once more to revisit the abodes of 
men and look upon the green fields, the trees, and gardens of 
an inhabited land : occasionally, though but rarely and in the 
neighborhood of marshy places, there appeared a larger bird 
or two, and we were forcibly reminded of the striking figure 
used by the Psalmist when he was overwhelmed by affliction 
and poured out his complaint before the Lord ; — 

" I am like a pelican of the wilderness ; 
I am like an owl of the desert."* 

Now we saw the mirage, that singular illusion, which often 
deceives the most experienced, and which for the moment, glad- 
dened our eyes with the prospects of quiet and refreshing 
lakes, and trees on their banks, most desirable for their entic- 
ing shade, only to depress our spirits the more when the con- 
viction forced itself upon our minds, that all which we beheld 
was unreal and baseless as a dream: now, again, we came 
upon flocks of goats, cropping the scanty herbage which they 
could find in the desert, and not far off* we noticed a Bedawy 
encampment, with some children, females and noisy dogs, 
close by, the former hiding themselves under the coarse blan- 
kets rudely supported on sticks stuck in the ground, and peep- 
ing out at the Frank strangers, the latter barking and snarling 
most disagreeably : as the day advanced, we found out, occa- 
sionally, what it was to travel through the territories of the 
wild sons of the desert, for, at intervals, some keen black-eyed 
Bedawin suddenly started forth, as it were, from the ground, 

* Ps. cii. 6. 



OUR EVENING ENCAMPMENT. 



239 



and in peremptory tones, demanded tribute for the privilege of 
crossing their desert, a demand, which on the whole, we deem- 
ed it best to satisfy for the sake of peace, though with our 
large party, we might easily have resisted all such claims. 

About five o'clock in the afternoon, our thoughts began to 
be turned to our evening encampment, and between that and 
sundown, we looked out rather anxiously for a good place to 
pitch our tent in. This being obtained, the caravan halted, 
and the tired camels being made to kneel, were released from 
their loads, and turned loose to roll in the sand, and browse 
upon the various sorts of nutriment, which a kind Providence 
has furnished for them, even in the arid desert. In the course 
of an hour or so, we were comfortably seated in our tent 
(which consisted of canvass, upheld by a single pole in the 
centre, and kept in its place by numerous ropes, fastened to 
pins driven into the sand), and were glad to sit down to our 
dinner, and refresh our jaded bodies with food convenient. 
Generally, we were too much fatigued, to do more than write 
down some brief notes of the day's events ; and, save, per- 
haps, a stroll out to gaze at the bright stars, and listen, if 
so I may speak, to the profound and solemn stillness of the 
vast desert, we rarely pretended to attempt anything in the 
way of occupation. At an early hour, we lay down on our 
beds, which were much like the ordinary cot bedsteads, only 
arranged to fold up into small compass, and commending our- 
selves to the protection of Him, who neither slumbers nor 
sleeps, we slept as only the weary and wayworn pilgrims rest, 
in security and peace. Sometimes in the night, I was aroused 
by the low- toned and monotonous songs of the Arabs, who 
take this method of keeping themselves awake, and manifest- 
ing their watchfulness, or by the braying of a donkey, or the 
noisy and sharp barkings of the wolfish Bedawin curs ; but 
never had I or my companions any cause of apprehension 
from the attacks of robbers, or the thievish propensities of 
many of the lawless inhabitants of the desert. Most thank- 



240 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



fully do I record the fact, that we met with no mishap, and 
suffered no loss whatever, during our entire journey from 
Cairo to Gaza. 

Our route by way of El Arish, will not require any very 
lengthened description, and I shall simply call your attention 
to a few points, which, I hope, will interest you. We left 
Cairo, as I stated above, on the afternoon of March 20th, and 
made that day, only as far as ancient Heliopolis or On, now 
called Matarieh, about eight miles from the metropolis. Here 
we encamped, having in full view the lofty obelisk, which, as 
we had visited it on a former occasion, we did not now stop 
to examine. The wind blew quite strongly from the north, 
and at night I found myself cold and uncomfortable. Having 
sent back to the city for one or two articles which had been 
forgotten, we arose early the next morning and got under 
way, in as good season as we could ; though as it was the 
first morning, there was more than ordinary delay in striking 
the tent, arranging the camels' loads, &o. Our general course 
was a little to the east of north, and for several days we were 
skirting that portion of Egypt, where, no doubt, was the land 
of Goshen. At various times during the day, we saw im- 
mense swarms of locusts, which were of a light, yellowish 
color, about two and a half inches in length, and gave the sky 
something of the appearance which it presented in a snow- 
storm; and we were struck with the marked contrast be- 
tween the desert, in all its waste and dreary loneliness on the 
one hand, and the rich fields of green grass and grain on the 
other. At various times, too, we thought we saw reason to 
suppose, that the desert tract, over which we were passing, 
had been once under cultivation ; for it is an established fact, 
that the land now rendered fertile by the Nile, could not sup- 
port more than half the population of ancient Egypt ; and it 
is a necessary inference, that in earlier days, before conquest 
and misrule had brought ruin upon Egypt, much more of 
what is now the desert was included in the cultivated and 



OUR ROUTE THROUGH THE DESERT. 241 

fruitful soil of the country. We passed through El Kanka, 
a large village, at eleven o'clock, and had a view of the out- 
side of one of the Pasha's army-schools. It is very large, and 
with two or three others, serves for the education of the Egyp- 
tian troops, some of the officers, &c. About two hours later, 
some little distance to the west of us were some mounds, 
called Tel Jehudieh, the " Mound of the Jews," which plainly 
points to the former occupants of this district of Egypt. In 
the course of the afternoon, we were joined by Dr. Wain- 
wright and Mr. Minturn, who had left Cairo on donkeys 
early this morning, and we encamped together near a small 
village. From the low hill on which we were, we saw plainly 
the Great Pyramid, which was more than thirty-five miles to 
the south of us. 

The next day, the 22d, at half-past nine A.M., we parsed 
near the large town of Belbeis, which is said to be well sup- 
plied with bazaars, &c, and seems to be of some consequence 
in this part of the country. The locusts still were visible in 
great abundance, a fact of which we were sorry to be aware, 
for the people consider it a bad sign, at this season, for 
the prosperity of the land. We began to find the sand of the 
desert more soft, and with less appearance of vegetation than 
we had previously noticed. About four P.M., we passed 
through a village, called Ras el Wad, which is about sixty 
miles from Cairo. On the 23d, we began to turn rather more 
to the east in our course, and entered more into what may 
strictly be termed the desert. We noticed, both to-day, and 
all the way through the wilderness, many small lizards, and 
occasionally some birds, which appear to make this their 
home. We saw considerable marshy ground, and some pools 
and ponds of salt water. There was also a good deal of wind 
from the north, which rendered it quite cool, almost cold, at 
times. We arrived at Salahieh at three P.M. Wilkinson 
gives the distance from Cairo as eighty and a half miles. All 
the village turned out to look at us, and to sell us such arti- 

11 



242 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



cles as they had. Here we were compelled to lay in water 
for four days, as none could be had that was good short of 
El Arish. The twenty-fourth of March brought us into the 
desert in reality, wild, waste, and without water. A strong 
wind was blowing, and, save some little birds, we saw nothing 
which had life : thistles, prickly shrubs, bushes, in clumps 
usually, stunted grass, and such-like, were quite abundant, 
and very serviceable to our camels, who cropped them with 
great relish. The surface of the sandy ground was slightly 
undulating, and there was, for the most part, a regular beaten 
track or road. Beside the occasional encampments of the 
Bedawin, a flock or two of goats, the bleached bones of camels 
who had died on the road, we had frequent experience in the 
mirage, which is one of the most singular optical illusions 
thmt I have ever witnessed. During the afternoon, we passed 
an inlet or arm of the sea (perhaps the Lake Menzaleh), and 
pools and salt marshes. The night was very cool, and having 
ridden eleven hours, we felt very tired. 

Our course for the succeeding days was nearly east, and 
we traversed the desert of moving sands, which meets one 
before arriving at El Arish. Our poor beasts sank into the 
soft sand very much, and were frequently in over their hoofs. 
Now and then we passed a grove of palm trees, and saw 
some birds, bugs, lizards, &c. The vast hills of yellowish 
sand, which is drifted or blown together, looked very singu- 
larly, and reminded us very much of the snow drifts in 
America ; and all day, we were passing through ravines, 
formed by these hills and mounds of fine sand, and over a very 
uneven surface. At two P.M., we came upon a large, broad 
plain, and in half an hour arrived at Katieh, the ancient Cas- 
ium, which, though put down on the maps, as if it were 
actually in existence, is in entire ruins. It was formerly a 
place of some importance, in a military point of view ; but 
when the French evacuated it, during Napoleon's campaign 
in Egypt, they blew up the fortifications, and destroyed the 



EL ARISH AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



243 



town entirely, to prevent its being of any value to the Eng- 
lish. There are now some palm trees on the site, two old 
tombs of Mohammedan saints, some remains of the old walls 
and fortifications, &o. Just beyond, we passed the third of 
Ibrahim Pasha's camel stations. It consists of a deep well 
of brick, of circular shape, say ten feet in diameter by eighteen 
feet deep: the water is very brackish, and unfit to drink, 
though the camels, who had had no water for six days, man- 
aged to satisfy their thirst upon it. Beside the well there is a 
long, wide trough of masonry, about forty feet in length, into 
which the water was conveyed, by means of a sakieh : this 
machine is not now in use, and the water is obtained by means 
of a rope attached to a small jar, let down into the well. 

The succeeding two days offer nothing of special import 
to mention ; we had the same unmitigated desert, and passed 
through much the same scenes, as previously. We came near 
the sea, which was close on our left hand, saw some gazelles, 
some of the desert quails, and other birds, herds of camels 
feeding, &c. The Bed a win tax gatherers came upon us to 
claim tribute, and every now and then, we would light upon 
some one of their encampments. On the 28th, at ten A.M. 
we arrived at El Arish, the ancient Rhinocolura : it is nearly 
two hundred miles from Cairo, and only about a mile from 
the sea. There is here a large brick fort, in unserviceable 
condition at present, and the town consists of a number of 
mud walled huts or houses. The medical officer stopped us 
on the frontier of Egypt, and we found it necessary to register 
ourselves, our camels, and other matters, which is done merely 
to give a fee to the officer there, and was of no sort of use to 
us. We saw here, the most villainous-looking soldiers and 
hangers-on, about the quarantine station, which I have ever 
met with. After an hour's detention, we were suffered to de- 
part, and crossed the Wady el Arish, which is supposed to be 
the mountain torrent, or flumen JEgyptiacum, the ancient 



244 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



boundary of Egypt, on the side of Syria.* From this point, 
we wrote two or three short letters, and put them in charge 
of an Arab of the party, who wanted to go back to Cairo. 
He was to have four dollars paid him at the Consulate, should 
he deliver our letters safely. I have wondered many a time 
since, how the poor fellow has got along, and whether he has 
managed to evade the quarantine and the Bedawin of the 
desert. I fear the fate of our mementoes of the wilderness is 
very uncertain. 

As it was an object to reach Gaza as soon as we could, in 
order to save all that was possible of the stupid quarantine, 
there imposed, we made a great effort on the 29th ; we got 
up at two, A.M., and were off before four. At a quarter 
before eight, we saw the tomb of Sheikh Juideh, from which 
our boy brought some dust, and sprinkled the camels with, 
to preserve and bless them. A tax gatherer came upon us 
again, and was disposed to give us some trouble ; but we paid 
him and sent him off. The appearance of the country was 
certainly better as a whole, and we had an opportunity to 
notice the primitive mode of ploughing among the Bedawin ; 
a rope is passed over the camel's hump, and being attached to 
the plough, an Arab walks behind and guides the machine. 
It .was intensely hot between nine in the morning and one, 
P.M. At eleven, A.M., we came to Refah, the ancient 
Raphia, which is now only a mound of ruins, covered with 
grass ; two pillars of gray granite are still standing, and some 
are lying about ; the Arabs call the deep well here, Solo- 
mon's, but why, I did not learn. At one, P.M., we arrived 
at Khan Yunus, (Jonas's Inn), the ancient Yenisus, a neat 
town, if so I may speak of any village with mud huts, and 
the peculiar habits of Eastern people. A soldier stopped us 

* At the great feast made by Solomon, at the dedication of* the temple, all 
Israel were assembled, " a very great congregation, from the entering in of 
Hamath unto the river of Egypt. 1 ' Hamath is situate far to the north, on the 
road to Aleppo, in latitude 35° 15'. — See 2 Chron. vii. 8; Josh. xiii. 5. 



ARRIVAL AT GAZA. 



245 



on account of the quarantine. I demanded why, when Egypt 
was perfectly healthy, they stopped us for this purpose : he 
laughed, and said, " for the money, to be sure !" which is 
undoubtedly the fact. After an hour's detention, we went 
on towards Gaza, in charge of a soldier on horseback : the 
road is over a broad and fertile plain, with sand hills between 
us and the sea on our left : at a quarter past five, we crossed 
the Wady Gaza, which is a considerable stream in winter, 
but at this season is dry. The bed is of a fine sand and gravel. 
Gaza appeared in the distance, and looked rather well, on the 
hill, on which it is partly situate. Albeit not in the poetic 
vein, we did think of Tasso's lines : 

" Upon Judea's confines, on the way 
That leads to old Pelusium, Gaza stands ; 
Built on the shore, it overlooks the bay, 
And on the east the bordering tract commands, — 
A fruitless waste, a solitude of sands, 
Which, like the waters of the tossing main, 
The breathing whirlwind spreads o'er all the lands ; 
And scarce the pilgrim can his course maintain 
Against the frequent storm that sweeps th' unstable plain."* 

About half-past six, we arrived at the quarantine station, 
and were met with the disagreeable intelligence, that we 
had to spend five whole days, and parts of two other days, 
seven days in fact, in this vile prison-house. The rooms are 
damp, and when it rains, wet and nasty ; and you can imag- 
ine what a trial it was to us, who had ridden nearly fifteen 
hours that day, to find such accommodations, and such a re- 
ception, when we arrived, fatigued and half sick, as we nearly 
all were. 

Gaza is a name which will call to your mind some of the 
many interesting portions of the Old Testament history. It 
was once a city of great importance, and figured largely in 
the eventful life of Sampson, the mighty champion of his 

* Tasso's " Jerusalem Delivered" Cant, xviii. 1 



246 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



oppressed country. There are some traditionary remains 
connected with the Scriptural account of Sampson's exploits, 
but as the envious walls of the Lazaretto have restrained 
our liberty entirely, we have been unable to explore the 
town or its environs, and have had to be content with such 
knowledge of it as we could gain from gazing at it some two 
hundred yards off. Fortunately, a considerable part of the 
city is situate on a high hill between one and two miles from 
the sea, and is therefore a very prominent object to one who 
looks upon it with the interest which it inspired in us. I am 
sorry to say, however, that we could distinguish nothing with 
precision, and could only notice that it appears to be a large 
and populous town, abounding in monks, tombs of saints, &c. 
The ancient city appears to have stood on the hill, which is 
well calculated for erecting defences ; the modern town is 
mainly in the valley on the east and north. To the south- 
east is a hill of no great height, called by some writers, 
" Sampson's Mount," as being the hill mentioned in the book 
of Judges (chapter xvi. 3) to which Sampson carried off the 
doors of the gate of Gaza. This hill might properly be said 
to be before, i. e. towards, Hebron, since there is no reason 
to suppose that the doors of the gate were carried to any 
great distance ; certainly we can hardly imagine that they 
were transported to the vicinity of Hebron, a city some 
thirty-five or forty miles off. Dr. Robinson has collected to- 
gether much interesting historical matter in connection with 
Gaza ; permit me to refer you to his elaborate volumes for 
further information. As I have not had an opportunity to 
visit the city as I desired, I beg to quote from the learned 
author, a passage in respect to its present condition: "All 
vestiges of the ancient walls and ancient strength of Gaza 
have disappeared ; and nothing remains to mark its former 
extent, except the bounds of the hill itself on which it stood. 
Even the traces of its former existence, its vestiges of anti- 
quity, are very rare; consisting of occasional columns of 



GAZA AS IT NOW IS. 



247 



marble or gray granite, scattered in the streets and gar- 
dens, or used as thresholds at the gates and doors of houses, 
or laid upon the front of watering troughs. One fine Corin- 
thian capital of white marble, lies inverted in the middle of 
a street running from north to south, along the eastern foot 
of the hill." # The same writer gives the population of Gaza 
as about fifteen thousand, which makes it, he says, larger than 
Jerusalem. TischendorfF calls it " a busy city, with a popu- 
lation of about sixteen thousand souls."t Others have rated 
it as low as two thousand ; probably, at the extent it does not 
exceed eight thousand. 

Here I must close this rather discursive letter. On the 
day after to-morrow we shall be released from our disagree- 
able prison-house, and once more breathe the air of freemen. 
If God spare my life, I shall next address you from the Holy 
City, that most deeply interesting of all the cities of the 
earth. 

* ''Biblical Researches" vol. ii. p. 376. 
f " Travels in the East," p. 128. 



LETTER XIII. 



3Palesttna— S^tll Country 

Peculiar Emotions excited by Visiting Jerusalem. — Not easily Explicable. — Our Route from 
Gaza.— Our Wish to be in the Holy City before Good Friday. — Horses and Mules.— Weather. 
—Contrast.— Immense Olive Groves.— Fertility and Beauty of the Land of the Philistines.— 
Commands of God with Respect to the Canaanites.— Conduct of the Jews. — Mode of Com- 
puting Distances in Syria. — Villages and Towns on the Road. — Dwellings of the People. — 
Emmaus or Nicopolis. — Latrun. — " Gate of the Valley." — Terrible Road upward to Jerusa- 
lem. — Toil and Fatigue. — Time Occupied. — Abu Gosh.— Story. — First View of the Holy City. 
— Feelings of Disappointment. — Entered Jaffa Gate. — Hotel. — Severe Illness. — Confinement 
for Several Days.— Deprivation of Precious Privileges. 

Jerusalem, April 10th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It is not, perhaps, easy to explain why it is, but I can 
assure you of the fact, that a most singular hesitation, and a 
strange feeling of unwillingness, have come over me in re- 
gard to writing to you from the Holy City. For several 
days, I have been desirous to do that which I am sure will 
gratify you, and I have more than once taken up my pen to 
begin a letter, and every time, up to the present, have laid it 
down, without being able to express, in any wise, that which 
I wish to say. I do not know how to account for the state 
of mind which I have now so frankly avowed ; a state of 
mind, in no respect accordant with my earnest desires to 
convey to you all the pleasure in my power, or with my de- 
termination, at all times, to write to you fully and freely, in 
regard to what I have seen and heard : it may be, that the 
intense longing which I had to get to Jerusalem, and the 
great excitement which was produced in me by drawing near 



FIRST EMOTIONS IN JERUSALEM. 



249 



to it. and entering actually within its walls, added to some 
other and trying circumstances, which I will mention pres- 
ently, were too much for me ; and finding so much that I had 
not expected, and so many things different from what I had 
supposed ; it is not. perhaps, unlikely that my mind became 
untuned, and my thoughts of such a discursive and unset- 
tled character, as to be utterly unfit to record. Of course, 
you will not misunderstand me. I do not for a moment im- 
agine, that it is of the slightest consequence to you or any 
one. to be made acquainted with the fact to which I have 
alluded above, only in so far as it may show the effect of a 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, upon minds and feelings of a cast 
similar to my own. I would not have believed it possible, a 
week ago. what I have just avowed. I came to the Holy 
City under a state of mind, as I supposed, most favorable to 
enjoy it and its sacred associations : I was full of the thoughts 
and wishes of a devout pilgrim ; I longed, even to tears, to 
stand upon holy ground, where my Lord and my God had 
walked, in the days when He took upon Him our nature, 
and dwelt among us : I was planning to myself what I would 
write to you. and how fully I would tell you of all that I 
saw in the city of the Great King ; but. alas, for all human 
calculations. I met with hardly aught else but disappoint- 
ment. The excessive fatigue and exposure on the road 
brought on sickness, and I lay for four days,, the most inter- 
esting days of the whole year, in my bed, or on my couch, 
unable to do anything, and with leisure abundant to reflect 
upon my sins, which added sharpness to the agony of our 
Lord., in the garden and on the cross : and when at last, 
through God's goodness, I was permitted to go out, and was 
allowed to see with my own eyes, what I had so often heard 
of by the hearing of the ear, the reality seemed to me so dif- 
ferent from all that I had expected, the lessons which I 
learned were so new and so unlooked for, and the picture 
which my imagination had formerly dwelt upon, with so 

11* 



250 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



much delight, was so little like Jerusalem as she now is, de- 
graded and desolate, that I yielded to the pressure of cir- 
cumstances, and gave way to feelings and emotions of which 
I had not believed myself capable. I trust, however, that 
you, who know me so well, will pardon even this at my 
hands, and excuse some of the defects which, I fear, will at- 
tach to most of my letters from the Holy Land. 

Before attempting to tell you aught about Jerusalem, al- 
low me, as briefly as I can, to describe our journey from 
Gaza upward to the Holy City. # We were permitted to 
leave the quarantine at any time after sunrise, on the morn- 
ing of the fourth instant, our seventh day ; and as we were de- 
sirous, not only to escape from the disagreeable confinement, 
but also to reach the Holy City as early in Passion Week as 
was possible, we had everything prepared in good season for 
our departure. Dr. W. and Mr. M. continued in company with 
us, and their train, added to ours, presented quite an imposing 
appearance, as we took up our line of march for the city of 
the Great King. The gentlemen of our party were mounted 
on horses — rather sorry beasts, at best — while our luggage 
and servants proceeded in the usual manner on the camels : 
originally, our engagement with the Bedawin was to have 
the camels as far as to Ramleh ; but as we were hurrying 
forward as much as possible, we succeeded, after some dis- 
cussion, in effecting a change in our route, and prevailed 
upon our headman to go by the shorter road to Jerusalem, 
by which means we expected to accomplish in two, what 
would otherwise require three days. The morning of our 
departure was rather unpleasant ; we had had rain for nearly 
every day while in quarantine, and the weather proved to be, 

* The expression is strictly accurate, more so than, perhaps, might at first 
sight appear. Gaza is near the sea, and of course not much above its level ; 
Jerusalem is situate among the hills and mountains of Benjamin, about 2700 
feet above the level of the Mediterranean. It is worth noticing, too, that in the 
direction given to Philip by the angel, he is told to "go toward the south unto 
the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (Acts viii. 26.) 



OUR ROUTE FROM GAZA. 



251 



on this occasion, cloudy and damp, with a prospect of rain 
during the day. Perhaps no one thing reminded us more 
forcibly of the fact, that we had left Egypt, where it very 
seldom rains, and where one never thinks of providing against 
it, than this circumstance, that now we were compelled to 
provide against wet, and to watch with some anxiety the 
threatening clouds, which might at any moment pour down 
their contents upon our heads. During the day, as it hap- 
pened, rain fell frequently, and I experienced once more the 
discomforts of riding in wet or damp clothes, over roads nei- 
ther smooth nor easy to traverse ; — but these are the com- 
mon trials of travel in Syria. 

Our road passed to the right of the city of Gaza, which 
we did not now stop to examine, in consequence of the strong 
desire which each one of the party felt, to get to the Holy 
City at the earliest possible moment in the Holy Week. We 
rode for some time through hedges of prickly pear, which 
serve to protect the gardens and fields from incursions, and 
which also afford more or less shade to the narrow lanes, or 
roads, which wind their devious way through them. Shortly 
afterwards, we entered most extensive groves of olive trees, 
the largest, I think, which I have ever seen : for nearly two 
hours we were riding through these beautiful groves, and 
were filled with many thoughts of that land, of which we had 
so often read, and whose richness is so often spoken of under 
the expressive figure drawn from the olive as well as the vine. 
We next came upon a broad and fertile plain, extending from 
the neighborhood of the sea backward to the hills on our right, 
and stretching out to the north and east as far as the eye 
could reach. In the distance, on the one hand, were the hills 
or mountains of the Hebron range, whose dark-colored sides 
and summits formed a most striking contrast to the plain be- 
neath our feet Toward the sea, on our left, the hills of yel- 
low sand presented an equally strong contrast ; and the scat- 
tered villages here and there, on some gentle slope, or some 



252 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



more commanding elevation, in the midst of the bright and 
verdant fields of grain for miles in extent, gave a picturesque- 
ness and beauty to the scene, far beyond the power of words 
to express. In truth, the land of the Philistines, through 
which we were passing during the day, appeared to me one 
of the most lovely tracts of country which I had ever seen ; 
and its exceeding fertility served to remove from my mind 
some of the wonder which I used to feel at the vast, and, as 
it were, almost numberless population, which it anciently 
possessed, and which warred with the children of Israel so 
frequently and so successfully. The beauty of the country, 
too, as well as the ease and facility of travel over so level and 
fertile a tract, seemed to me decisive of the question in re- 
gard to that passage in the Acts, where Philip was directed 
to " arise and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth 
down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert ;" for it 
would be quite out of the question to term a road or way 
desert, which passed through a country like this. I have no 
doubt, therefore, that the reference is to Gaza itself, which 
at this date was partly in ruins, and might properly be termed 
$QT](iog, desolate, desert, &c. 

As we rode along, I could not help thinking over various 
portions of Holy Writ, in relation to the history of the chosen 
people ; and I saw abundant occasion to recognize the hand 
of God, in His proceedings with the rebellious descendants 
of those who were so severely punished in the desert. You 
recollect, that it was the express command of Jehovah, that 
they should go up and destroy utterly the inhabitants of the 
land, whose iniquity was full, and the cup running over.* 

* " When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou 
goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, 
and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, 
and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than 
thou ; and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee ; thou shalt 
smite them and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt make no covenant with them, 
nor show mercy unto them ; neither shalt thou make marriages with them ; 



god's dealings with the jews. 



253 



And He promised, that if they served Him with their whole 
hearts, and obeyed His commands, He would drive out all 
before them, and make their arms victorious on every occa- 
sion. While the great captain Joshua lived, "Israel served 
the Lord," and were blessed in their many and sharp contests 
with the idolatrous inhabitants of the land promised of old 
to the seed of Abraham ; yet, not even then, were they per- 
fectly minded to worship and obey God only: and so their 
success was not complete, and in various portions of the land 
the former inhabitants remained, tributary, it is true, but 
continual snares unto the chosen people. "When that gene- 
ration which came in with Joshua, and had known all 
the works of the Lord, that He had done for Israel, had 
passed away, "there arose another generation after them, 
which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had 
done for Israel ;" # these forsook the Lord, and bowed them- 
selves down to the idols of the people round about them ; 
so that wrath went out against them ; their arms were 
powerless, their strength was gone, and the hand of the 
oppressor lay heavily upon them. The bitter cup of ad- 
versity, which they often drained to the very dregs, al- 
most always brought them back again to their senses, and 
made them feel most keenly the enormity of their guilt 
against God their Saviour ; and so they cried unto Him, out 
of the depth of their misery, and He heard them, and gave 
them relief. Many a time was this done : many a time did 
they rebel : their sins, as a people, brought punishment : their 
pepentance and profession of amendment, obtained for them 
relief, at the hands of Him, who always remembered His 
covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And such, in 
brief, is their whole history : they could not drive out the 
Canaanites, because of their own unbelief and rebellion ; and 

. . . thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver 
thee ; thine eye shall have no pity upon them."— Deut. vii. 1-3 ; 16. 
* Judges ii. 10. 



254 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



so God left various tribes and nations in their midst, " to 
prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken 
unto the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded 
their fathers by the hand of Moses."^ Among those expressly 
enumerated as thus left, were " the five lords of the Philis- 
tines and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the 
Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal- 
Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath :" and though Ju- 
dah took Gaza, with the coast thereof, and Askelon, with the 
coast thereof, and Ekron, with the coast thereof; and though 
the Lord was with Judah, so that he expelled the inhabitants 
of the mountainous districts, yet he could not drive out the 
inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron ;t 
though, too, in later times, David subdued the Philistines, 
and extended his dominion more widely than had been pos- 
sible, either in former or subsequent times, still the Philistines 
remained, and frequently prevailed over the children of Israel. 

About nine, A.M.,$ we passed the village of Beit Hanun, 
near to the road on our right : we saw frequent evidences of 
the heavy rains which occasionally deluge a part of Syria, 
in the deep gullies worn in the plains, at intervals, along the 
road-side. At ten, we crossed a bridge over a mountain tor- 
rent, with a deep sandy bed. On Robinson's map, it is called 
Wady Simsim, and is marked as occasionally dry in nearly 
its whole extent : when we crossed it, there was not much 
water in the stream. During the day, we had considerable 

* Judges iii. 4. f Judges i. 18, 19. 

^ In travelling in Syria, all computations of distance are made by the time 
occupied in the journey. Camels average from two to two and a half miles 
per hour ; horses frequently perform more, especially when the traveller chooses 
to leave the luggage train, and urge his steed forward ; in this way three miles, 
and even four, may be gone over in an hour. But it is well to remember that, 
with slight exception, the whole journey through Syria is performed at a horse's 
usual walking pace, which gives on an average rather less than three miles per 
hour. In speaking, too, of the distance of one place from another, the people 
always say, it is so many hours — not so many miles — to the point inquired for. 
Of course, I shall be compelled to adopt the same mode of speech. 



* 



SCENERY ALONG THE ROAD. 



255 



wind, and an appearance of the clouds which reminded me 
very much of home, and as I have noticed above, we had fre- 
quent showers, which served to add brilliancy to the green 
fields through which we were passing. In general, our ride 
to-day was over one continuous plain, with occasionally gentle 
slopes, and some low hills and lovely valleys ; as there are no 
fences in this part of the world, and as the road is simply a 
path for horses, camels, asses, &o. — no vehicles ever being 
used — the view is unobstructed, and the eye has a range as 
extensive as could be desired. We had opportunity, every 
now and then, to see the primitive mode of ploughing, which 
is not uncommon in this country ; it is very simple and easy, 
since all that the Arabs do is merely to pass a rope over a 
camel's hump and attach it to a rude instrument for turn- 
ing up the ground, such an one as our scientific farmers would 
despise as a plough ; sometimes, too, we would see an ass and 
a heifer, 3-oked together, for this purpose, and the husband- 
man directing them with a long goad, pointed with iron ; 
a circumstance, which called to mind that passage in the 
Acts(ix.5), where our Lord declares to Saul, the astonished 
and trembling persecutor, "it is hard for thee to kick against 
the pricks," or goads, — it is insane folly for thee thus to in- 
jure and ruin thyself, by attempting to fight against God, and 
like a silly brute, which uselessly resists his master, to strive to 
thy own wounding and hurt against Me, thy Lord and Master. 

At a quarter past eleven, we passed Burbareh, on our left, 
and about noon, Dimreh, and other small villages. At fre- 
quent intervals, too, we saw sheikhs' or saints' tombs, which, 
with their white domes and solid construction of stone, gener- 
ally about twelve to fifteen feet in height, form picturesque 
and rather imposing objects in the midst of the plain and on 
the hill-sides. About two o'clock, from a slight elevation, 
we had a fine view of the sea ; after which, we rode over a 
broad plain, commencing near Es-Sawafir. Just beyond the 
town is an ancient well of solid masonry, some two or three 



256 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



hundred years old, and a little further, may be seen ruins of 
a former city or town. But little can be traced of the foun- 
dation walls, yet the remains appear to be of an early period. 
Some distance to the left, on a hill, is Yasur, supposed to be 
the Hazor of Scripture (Josh. xv. 25). Saphir, you may rec- 
ollect, is spoken of by the prophet : — 

" Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked : 
The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth 

In the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing."* 

Eusebias and Jerome place it below Eleutheropolis and 
Ashkelon, which would coincide very well with the position 
of Es-Sawafir ; its ruins beyond, are not probably those of 
the ancient town. The people of the villages, and in the 
fields, looked at us with curiosity, and some degree of sullen- 
ness, but they did not at all molest us, or refuse to answer 
any questions which we chose to ask ; in general, too, I was 
a little surprised at the light color of the inhabitants, who, 
with the exception of the effect of the sun upon those exposed 
in the fields, appeared to me as of much the same complexion 
as most of the people of our own country. This applies more 
particularly to the younger women and children, many of 
whom, I noticed, had very beautiful, sparkling, black eyes, 
and regular features, not infrequently of classic mould. 

At half-past three, P.M., we passed through a village named 
Kastineh, situate on a hilly slope, with a pond of water 
near by. In most respects, the villages along the road wear 
the same aspect of degradation, and, as we should esteem it, 
of misery, as those in Egypt, being merely collections of huts 
or hovels, without order or arrangement, and sadly lacking in 
neatness and comfort, both externally and internally ; there 
is, however, one striking difference between the Syrian and 
Egyptian towns and villages. In Egypt, the natives live in 
mud huts, half the time or more, without covering of any 

* Micah, i. 11. 



REMAINS OF ANCIENT PLACES. 



257 



kind ; but in Palestine, where the rains are abundant and at 
frequent intervals, the huts or houses are generally built of 
stone, and sometimes plastered with mud, having roofs of 
poles or beams, laid across, and over these, thick layers of 
dirt, grass, &c, by which means, the occupants are protected 
from the wet, and can easily keep themselves comfortable dur- 
ing the vicissitudes of heat and cold. Late in the afternoon, 
we crossed a small stream, which is named the Brook Sorek, 
on Palmer's map, having in sight, at intervals, the Mediter- 
ranean, and being about one hour distant from Esdud, or 
Ashdod, on our left. This, you will recollect, was one of the 
five cities of the Philistines ; Irby and Mangles visited it in 
October, 1817, and give an interesting account of some ruins 
in the immediate vicinity. Gath is marked on Palmer's map 
as about the same distance to the east of our road as Ashdod 
was to the west ; Dr. Robinson does not mark it on his map, 
since he was not able to find any traces of the name through- 
out the present region.^ In the times of the Romans, the 
city was called Azotus, and is mentioned in the eighth chap- 
ter of the Acts, fortieth verse ; it was here, that Philip was 
found, after he had preached Jesus unto the eunuch of queen 
Candace, and baptized him into the true faith of our Lord 
and Saviour. Shortly before seven, P.M., we came to our 
proposed place of encampment, very much fatigued with 
eleven hours in the saddle, and glad to rest from the labors 
of the day. 

We rose very early on the morning of " Thursday before 
Easter," in order to get through as much of the journey as 
we could before the heat of the day, and also to secure as 
early an arrival in Jerusalem as was possible : and that we 
might have no cause of delay, we mounted our horses, and 
with our dragoman to lead the way, pushed onward, leaving 
the camels and luggage to follow us more leisurely. I re- 
gretted particularly, that I did not feel as well as usual, since 

* See Robinson's " Biblical Researches" vol. ii. pp. 420, 421. 



258 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



it prevented my enjoying, as much as I desired, the deeply 
interesting scenes through which we were passing, and made 
me apprehend worse consequences in store for me. On many 
accounts, the day was more trying than the preceding, for 
not only had it rained hard during the night, and thus ren- 
dered the road or path disagreeably wet and muddy, but at 
frequent intervals, in the course of the day, I found it very 
difficult to protect myself, particularly my feet, against the 
abundant showers ; and I thought it not unlikely, that I might 
be seriously sick in Jerusalem. I did not, however, let these 
things interfere with our journeying upwards toward the 
Holy City, for I felt the force of that excitement which the 
Christian mind cannot resist, quite as much as any one of 
the party, and I was as eager as the most enthusiastic pil- 
grim, to get a first view of the hills which stand round about 
Jerusalem, and to feast my eyes with gazing upon her towers. 
So we rode on, at a tolerably good pace, through a pleasant 
and fruitful country, in measure level and remarkably easy 
of cultivation, but, more than yesterday, presenting the 
varied appearance of hill and dale, and offering to the eye 
a scene, at times, of very great beauty. I can hardly pre- 
tend to enumerate all the villages along the road, for I was 
not always able to get the names exactly as the Arabs pro- 
nounced them; this, however, is of the less consequence, since 
the towns and villages are very sparse, surprisingly so, when 
one recollects what a large population this land has, at differ- 
ent periods, supported, and what an increase of its inhabi- 
tants might easily be made, without danger of its being over- 
burdened with people. The villages are also, in general, a 
collection of huts of recent origin, and seldom connected with 
any interesting point in ancient or modern history. When, 
however, it may chance that they relate in any wise to the 
facts of the Scriptures, I have endeavored to make accurate 
mention of everything of a kind which I supposed would 
be worth your attention. 



NICOPOLIS AND LATRUN. 



259 



Crossing the dry bed of a small stream, Wady Surar, on 
Robinson's map, and having Ekron, or at least the village 
which occupies its site, to the north-west of us, perhaps an 
hour distant, we came at eight, A.M., to a region of hilly yet 
fertile country, near to which Dr. Robinson has pointed out 
the site of Nicopolis or Emmaus, now called Amwas, though 
he did not visit and examine it in person.* The road passed 
a little to the right, but the conical hill on which the town 
was situate, was a striking object which we stopped a few 
minutes to look at and admire. You will understand, how- 
ever, that this could not be the Emmaus mentioned in St. 
Luke (chapter xxiv. 13), to which the two disciples were go- 
ing when the Lord Jesus met them and revealed Himself to 
them in the breaking of bread ; for it is expressly mentioned, 
that that village was sixty stadia (about seven miles) from 
Jerusalem, whereas, the ancient Nicopolis is about a hun- 
dred and sixty stadia, or not far from nineteen miles from 
the Holy City. It is to this town, near to Jerusalem, that 
Tasso alludes : — 

" Emmaus, a city at so short a space 

From regal Salem, that a youth in June, 
Walking for pleasure at a careless pace, 

From dewy morn, may reach the town by noon. "f 

Descending a rather steep hill, and crossing a brook of no 
great size, we entered upon the Ramleh road, near Latrun, 
which is situate on a lofty hill, and appeared to have been 
once a place of great strength, t We inferred this, not only 
from its natural adaptedness for military purposes, but also, 
from various evidences of massive buildings of this sort, and 
some ruins of paved road, and a bridge which we saw near 
the highway. The valleys here were very picturesque and 

* Robinson's " Biblical Researches" vol. iii. p. 66, Notes 1, 2. 
f Tasso's " Jerusalem Delivered" Cant. ii. 56. 

% Latrun derives its Arabic name from the tradition that here was the do- 
mus boni latronis, the home of the malefactor pardoned on the cross. (Luke 
xxiii. 43.) 



260 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



beautiful, and there appeared to be an abundant supply of 
water in almost every direction. I do not know when I have 
noticed a more pleasing contrast than on this occasion, be- 
tween the verdant, well- watered valleys, rich in the manifold 
productions of the ground, and the rocky sides and sterile 
summits of the high hills which encompass them : indeed 
such features in the scenery of the Holy Land are so obvious, 
that they must impress the mind of every one who is priv- 
ileged to visit its sacred localities. 

During the day before, and the early part of the present 
day, we had been traversing the portion of country allotted 
to the tribes of Simeon and Dan, and had been journeying 
in a north-easterly direction. At Latrun we entered upon 
the main road which connects Jerusalem with Ramleh and 
Jaffa, or Joppa, on the sea coast. Our course was now 
rather to the south of east, into the land of Benjamin, and 
through a region so unlike everything which I had imagined, 
that the impressions there made upon my mind can never be 
effaced. At a quarter before ten, we came to what is called 
the Bab el Wady, or " Gate of the Valley ;" near to which 
is a rural coffee-shop under a fig-tree, where it is customary 
for travellers to refresh themselves with a cup of this deli- 
cious beverage, and if they choose, to smoke a pipe under 
the shade of the trees. Here we entered upon a most dreary, 
uncomfortable, and, as I felt it, most terrible road, leading 
from the lovely valleys which we had just left, through the 
gorges and up the sides of barren mountains, with hardly a 
pleasant thing to relieve the prospect, and with everything to 
depress the spirits of the traveller. Let me beg you to im- 
agine our position : the path or road, though a great thorough- 
fare, and in constant use, is not only narrow and steep, but 
also exceedingly rough and stony. At one time, we were 
winding our way slowly along, looking down over a precipice 
into some deep and trackless ravine ; at another, we were 
making our way, always in single file, with overhanging 



ROAD THROUGH THE HILL COUNTRY. 261 



rocks and trees on either hand ; seldom, indeed, was there a 
smooth or level spot of road, and rarely was there aught to 
dispel the deep gloom which seemed to hang over every sur- 
rounding object. Frequently we met horsemen, usually in 
companies of two or three, but sometimes alone, all armed to 
the teeth, and eyeing the passers-by with suspicion or looks of 
insult ; and every little while we came upon persons with 
donkeys, or women and children on foot, but each was equipped 
in some way and carried some weapon or other, as if it were 
unsafe to traverse this road without means of defence. The 
slow and toilsome pace of the horses, the slipping and stum- 
bling of our steeds, as they went plash, plash, through the 
wet and mud, and the fatigue of riding up or down steep 
hills, were trying beyond description. The rain, too, fell in 
profusion ; the cold wind swept through the mountain passes 
with great force ; dark and heavy clouds hung over the sum- 
mits and sides of the hills ; and the damp, raw air seemed 
to penetrate through everything, and to chill and dishearten 
me at every step. I can safely say, that I have never passed 
over a road equal to this, and I am sure you will pity me, 
when I inform you, that with little variation, or little relief, 
we were nearly seven hours in ascending from the " Gate of 
the Valley" to the hills on the west of Jerusalem. 

About eleven, we halted near a well of rain water, by the 
road-side, for the purpose of taking some refreshment. From 
this point, and on one or two other occasions, on looking back, 
we were gratified with several fine views of the plain, to the 
west and north, and we could clearly make out Ramleh and 
Jaffa, with the blue Mediterranean beyond, forming a most 
refreshing and inviting picture, when contrasted with the 
stern and harsh character of immediately surrounding objects. 
After our lunch we remounted, and continued the gradual 
ascent, passing a village near by, where the drums were beat- 
ing, the castanets jingling, the women making that indescrib- 
able noise not unlike an ullaloo, the yellow and red flags fly- 



262 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ing, and the people in a state of some excitement. The cause 
of all this, we learned, was the departure of pilgrims to Neby 
Musa, or the tomb of the Prophet Moses, which, for conven- 
ience' sake, the Mohammedans have located on the west side 
of the Jordan, about two hours from the Dead Sea. We 
were rather glad not to have come in contact with these pil- 
grims, for they are full of fanaticism, and on such occasions 
seem to consider it a merit to insult and abuse Christians. 
Between twelve and one, P.M., we arrived at a rather noted 
locality, and one which affords a rather striking commentary 
on the wretched condition of Syria, under the feeble govern- 
ment of the Turks. Descending a steep hill into a valley, 
not wanting in fruitfulness and beauty, we were surprised to 
see on our right, and on the side of another hill, several large 
stone edifices, built evidently as towers of strength, and for 
military occupation. Besides these, there were a number of 
smaller stone houses^ forming a large village, and, altogether, 
admirably adapted for the uses to which they were devoted. 
There was also, by the road-side, in good preservation, a solidly 
built stone church, of considerable size, with the small win- 
dows of the early style, and a handsomely Gothic-arched 
doorway : — alas, that I should say it, it is now used for a 
stable! It appears that in this locality, the noted robber 
sheikh, Abu Gosh, had his stronghold in former years. This 
being the great highway between Jaffa and the Holy City, 
as well for caravans as for travellers, he made it a profitable 
business to levy contributions on all who passed this way ; 
and as he had some two hundred mounted men under his 
command, and had entrenched himself in a position from 
which it was not very easy to drive him, he succeeded in 
carrying on his robberies on a large scale, and almost with 
impunity. The pasha of Jerusalem signally failed in every 
attempt to put him down by force. When Ibrahim Pasha 
was in Syria, Abu Gosh was quite submissive to the power 
of that extraordinary man ; and during the period of the 



FIRST VIEW OF JERUSALEM. 



263 



Egyptian rale in Syria, this, as well as all the roads, were 
quite safe for travellers and caravans. When, through the 
ill-timed intervention of England, Ibrahim Pasha was com- 
pelled to return to Egypt, and Syria once more came under 
Turkish domination, the robber sheikh, like many others, 
resumed his former vocation, and the road again became un- 
safe. It was certainly an object to break up this nest of 
thieves; but as the force at his command was not sufficient, 
the Turkish governor resorted to means, in which his country- 
men are very expert. By some inducement or other, they 
prevailed upon Abu Gosh to be present at a friendly enter- 
tainment, when, having him within their grasp, they coolly 
put him in chains, and sent him to Constantinople. There 
he is kept in confinement, while his stronghold in the moun- 
tains has been despoiled of its importance, and his band dis- 
persed. This is as the story was told to us, though I do not 
vouch for the accuracy of the details.* 

I need not dwell upon unimportant matters connected with 
our toilsome progress onward toward Jerusalem : it was the 
same hard, tedious, up and down pathway, amid rocks and 
stones, and wet and mud, unmitigated, save by the exciting 
thought, that each moment we were drawing nearer the goal 
of all our hopes, and should soon be permitted to look upon 
Jerusalem in very truth. At last we came to the top of the 
hills immediately to the west of the city, and each member 
of our party pressed forward to catch a first glimpse of its 
walls and towers. It was late in the afternoon, about four, 
P.M., when, from an elevation not differing much from that 
on which the city itself is situate, we beheld its sacred and 
holy precincts for the first time. I was so excessively fa- 
tigued, and felt so unwell, that I seemed to myself not to 
have one spark of enthusiasm left. The view was disap- 

* Lamartine (in 1832) gives an interesting account of his interview with this 
Arab chief of organized banditti. See " Pilgrimage to the Holy Land" vol. i. 
pp. 237-240. Am. Ed. 1835. 



264 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

pointing, at best, being from a point where you see little else 
than a long line of wall, and can distinguish but few of the 
localities which must ever be dear to the heart of the Chris- 
tian : the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, and the holy spots 
about Kedron, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, Siloa's brook, the 
lovely vale of Hinnom, were none of them visible ; and the Holy 
City appeared to have few of the charms with which imagi- 
nation had invested it, and which had become familiar to our 
eyes by the skill and genius of the artist. Yet it was the 
city of the Great King on which we were gazing ; it was 
here our Divine Lord and Master had walked in the days of 
His flesh, and here He had suffered as an atonement for the 
sins of the whole world : it was here the Holy Ghost had 
descended, in his life-giving power, and fitted the Apostles for 
the great mission which they had accomplished : it was here 
the proto-martyr died ; here the disciples bore testimony to the 
' truth, through evil report and through good report : here 
the persecuting Saul burned with intemperate zeal against 
the followers of the cross : here he returned years afterwards* 
as Paul the Apostle, and servant of Jesus, whom he loved 
and served. Yes, it was the city over which our Lord wept, 
He who came to His own, and His own received Him not : it 
was the city which, by its horrible guilt in rejecting the Mes- 
siah, brought upon itself the dread destruction and misery 
which befel it, when the Roman eagle lighted upon its prey. 
Weak as I was, my heart was full of deep emotions, and I 
kept uttering to myself, in a low voice, "Jerusalem, O Jeru- 
salem !" I could not say more ; it was neither a scene nor a 
time for words ; it was not an occasion where speech could 
image forth the unutterable, unfathomable feelings of one, 
who counts it his highest glory to be a soldier and servant of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Descending the hill over which we had just been riding, 
and crossing a valley of no great depth, we came to the Jaffa 

* Compare Acts ix. with Gal. i. 16-18. 



ENTRANCE INTO THE HOLY CITY. 



265 



or Bethlehem gate. We were stopped, for a few moments, 
by the guard, with reference to the bill of health, after which, 
we were allowed to enter ; and then it was, that we could, 
and did exclaim with the Psalmist : — 

" Our feet . . . stand within thy gates, Jerusalem ! 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : 
They shall prosper that love thee. 
Peace be within thy walls. 
And prosperity within thy palaces ! 
For my brethren and companions' sakes, 
I will now say, Peace be within thee ! 
Because of the house of the Lord our God 
I will seek thy good."* 

We found the streets narrow, often very steep, and just at 
present, very wet and dirty ; after traversing a considerable 
portion of the city, we arrived at Meshullam's Hotel, which 
is not far from the Damascus gate, and is said to be the bet- 
ter of the two inns in the city. I was completely tired out 
and almost ready to fall off my horse, and, I regret to say, 
was compelled to go to bed immediately, and call for the ser- 
vices of a physician. I have before said, that for several 
days, I was unable to go out at all, or even to leave my room, 
which was the more trying, because I had particularly longed 
to be in Jerusalem during the Holy Week, and to take a 
part in the touching services of our Church at this sacred sea- 
son ; but it did not please Him, in whose hands are the issues 
of life and death, that thus it should be. 

Good Friday, the day commemorative of our Lord's aton- 
ing sacrifice on the cross; Easter-Even, during which His 
sacred body lay in the sepulchre ; and bright and glorious 
Easter, when He burst the bands of death and rose trium- 
phant from the grave, — all were spent in my room, where for 
hour after hour, solitary and alone, I lay and meditated upon 
the precious records of our Lord and our Master's infinite 

* Ps. cxxii. 2, 6-9. 

12 



266 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



compassion, love and tenderness toward our guilty race. O 
may it please Him, that the aspirations of a penitent and be- 
lieving, though unworthy, servant of His, may be answered 
according to that which He shall deem best for us all ! My 
friends and fellow-voyagers saw many of the sights in the 
church of the Holy Sepulchre, which I rejoice that I did not 
see ; and they were very busy in examining localities, which I 
have, as yet, hardly had time to look at : since, however, it has 
pleased God to give me strength again, and to suffer me to 
walk about Zion, to see " how doth the city sit solitary, that 
was full of people ;" how " the ways of Zion do mourn, because 
none come to the solemn feasts ;" and how " from the daugh- 
ter of Zion all her beauty is departed,"^ I have most thank- 
fully embraced the opportunity of seeing, what we have trav- 
elled thousands of miles to behold ; and I trust, that I may 
be able to speak of the Holy City in such wise as will inter- 
est you in everything relating to it, and its most sacred as- 
sociations. 



* Lam. i. 1, 4,6. 



LETTER XIV. 



Extent of the Topics Involved— A Few Points only Attempted.— The Streets, General Ap- 
pearance, First Impressions, &c. — Houses. — Stone and well Built. — Peculiarity. — Population 
of Jerusalem. — Probable Amount of. — Character and Condition. — Jews. — Depressed Condi- 
tion.— Jewish Quarter.— Visit to it. — Scenes there. — English Mission to the Jews.— Its Foun- 
dation and Objects.— Converts. — Jews' Place of Wailing. — Massive Masonry. — Ruined Arch, 
— Lepers' Huts.— Scene of Misery and Woe. — Mohammedan Population. — Their Character. — 
The Christians in Jerusalem. — Deplorable and Disgraceful Hatred and Dissensions. — Social 
State and Condition on the Whole. — Hope for the Future. 

Jerusalem, April 11th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

The Holy City is, in many respects, unlike every other 
city in the world : there is no period in its history which is not 
full of interest ; there is not a locality in or about it, which 
has not some connection with events of moment, or with the 
sad story of its degradation and ruin, or with its renown and 
glory in other days. I find it very difficult, in consequence, 
to make choice of the few points on which my limits will 
allow me to dwell : to speak of all, would require volumes ; # 
for it would embrace nearly the whole history of the chosen 
people, and would need that every stone, every spot of ground, 
every tower and building, every single one of the thousand 
places which are enshrined in the memory of Christians, be 
spoken of with fulness and carefulness of detail. I should 
hardly dare, under any circumstances, to undertake a task 

* As an illustration of this remark, see " The Holy City : Historical, Topo- 
graphical, and Antiquarian Notices of Jerusalem. By George Williams, B.D. 
Second Ed. 2 vols. 8vo." There are here nearly thirteen hundred pages devot- 
ed to the Holy City alone, and yet the subject is by no means exhausted ! 



268 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 





THE STREETS IN JERUSALEM. 269 

of so great magnitude ; much less may I venture at this 
time, when I must write rapidly, and in measure without 
books to consult, to enter upon aught, except such matters 
as would naturally strike a devout pilgrim to the Holy City, 
and would be likely to interest those at home, who, though 
their feet may not stand within the gates of Jerusalem, may, 
and do pray for her peace and prosperity. Let me have your 
indulgence, then, my dear S., while I attempt to describe a 
few of the many things in and about Jerusalem, which give 
it a charm, even in its present degraded state, above all that 
mere words can ever express. 

To a European or American, accustomed to the broad 
avenues, and clean, paved and well-lighted streets, of most 
of our cities and towns, Jerusalem, like all oriental cities, 
must, at first, appear unpleasant and disagreeably dirty. 
Its streets are very narrow, extremely uneven, and by no 
means free from filth ; the nature of the ground on which 
the city stands, renders it a constant succession of up and 



On the opposite page is a Plan of Jerusalem, reduced from the Large Plan 
constructed by Dr. Schultz, late Prussian Consul at Jerusalem. 
The numbers on the Plan indicate the following sites : 

1. Mosk of Omar. 

2. Site of Solomon's Temple. 

3. Mosk el Aksa. 

4. Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

5. The Citadel: Tower of David : Hippicus. 

6. The English Church and Consulate. 

7. Upper Pool of Gihon. 

8. Lower Pool of Gihon. 

9. Tomb of David: Mosk 

10. Ruins of the Country House of Caiaphas. 

11. King's Gardens. 

12. En Rogel: Well of Job (Joab). 

13. Tomb of Absalom. 

14. Ruins of the Church of the Ascension. 

15. Garden of Gethsemane. 

Below the map is a section of Jerusalem from W.S.W. to E.N.E., on the line 
marked A. B. on the Plan. 



270 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



down, the street being in many places paved in the form of 
stairs ; the evident state of ruin, and almost desolation, which 
characterizes some portions of the town, not only annoy the 
traveller, who has to make his way as best he can, amid loose 
stones, dirt and nastiness, but fill his mind with sadness and 
regret, that the Holy City should be thus degraded and 
brought low. I certainly thought, when first we rode through 
the streets of Jerusalem, on our arrival, that I had never seen 
so dirty and uncomfortable, so ill kept and so unpleasant a 
city, as this ; and I find that most of travellers receive much 
the same impressions ; but you must not suppose that it is, 
in reality, worse than other oriental towns ; it would be un- 
fair and unjust, to single it out for censure, when in fact, 
while it has many things in common with most eastern cities, 
it has several features of interest peculiar to itself, and which 
render it more than ordinarily attractive to the Christian pil- 
grim.^ After the rain had subsided, I was surprised to notice 
the difference ; the streets soon became comparatively dry 
and clean, and though they are very narrow, and very crook- 
ed sometimes, though by the custom of building over them, 
you pass under arches and dark passages, not the most pleas- 
ant, and certainly not the cleanest in the world, yet after all, 
one soon becomes accustomed to such things. The necessity 
of having narrow streets becomes most sensibly evident, after 
one has been exposed to the scorching sun for an hour or so, 

* Dr. Robinson, who is not certainly to be accused of being carried away by 
poetic fancy or fervor, expresses himself as agreeably disappointed with Jerusa- 
lem ; he thus speaks : " From the descriptions of Chateaubriand and other 
travellers, I had expected to find the houses of the city miserable, the streets 
filthy, and the population squalid. Yet the first impression made upon my 
mind was of a different character; nor did I afterwards see any reason to 
doubt the correctness of this first impression. The houses are in general better 
built, and the streets cleaner, than those of Alexandria, Smyrna, or even Con- 
stantinople. Indeed, of all the oriental cities which it was my lot to visit. Je- 
rusalem, after Cairo, is the cleanest and most solidly built. The streets, indeed, 
are narrow, and very rudely paved, like those of all cities of the East. The 
houses are of hewn stone, often large," &c. — " Biblical Researches." vol i. p. 3*28. 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS. 



271 



and the shade of the high stone walls of the houses is never 
felt to be more cool and agreeable, than under such circum- 
stances. While it is true, that one cannot forget the frequent 
annoyances alluded to above, and while he feels that the ro- 
mance with which his imagination had invested the Holy 
City, particularly as he called to mind the glowing and pa- 
thetic language of the "sweet singer of Israel," is almost 
entirely without foundation in fact, he learns to look on Je- 
rusalem, with other and more sober eyes, and he strives to 
forget what she now is, in meditating upon the glory which 
she once possessed. 

I fear that I do not express myself with any great clear- 
ness, in my anxiety to utter the truth, and the truth only, in 
regard to this matter. I am extremely desirous not to mislead 
you by giving you the impression that the Holy City is, in its 
present condition, either better or worse, than as I actually 
found it. In general, it disappoints the traveller, it must be 
confessed ; but withal, it grows upon his affections, if he have 
any true love for its sacred localities ; and notwithstanding 
all its defects and all those things which he might, and does 
wish otherwise, he is deeply pained to leave it, and deeply 
grieves that he cannot give months instead of days to the city 
of the Great King. His interest in the questions which have 
been so ably discussed of late years ; his recollections of the 
vast multitude of wonderful and grand events which have 
here been enacted ; and his ever present desire to profit, as a 
Christian ought, by the holy privileges placed within his reach ; 
cause him to think little of, yes, even to forget, all minor 
things, in view of the great fact, that this is the Holy City, 
of which he has so often read, and from a child, so constantly 
longed to see. Its narrow and crooked streets become endear- 
ed to him, by the thoughts to which they have given rise ; 
its elevated and hilly portions, as well as its valleys and 
recesses, shut out, as it were, from the busy mart, or the 
thronging thoroughfare, have a charm of association which 



272 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



no words can adequately set forth ; and its various quarters, 
and its many traditionary sacred spots, excite in him the most 
lively emotions, even though he feel convinced, that most of 
these traditions have no foundation in fact, and are only the 
result of that unwise effort to give local habitation to every 
event and circumstance of the Gospel history. Hence, if I 
mistake not, the general impression which a traveller carries 
away with him, is one of pleasure rather than of pain ; and 
whenever his thoughts recur to Jerusalem, in after days, he* 
forgets all minor trials and troubles, in the glowing and spirit- 
stirring memories of the city of our Lord and our King. 

The houses in Jerusalem are usually built of stone, and 
the outer walls are laid with care and, in some cases, with 
much attention to architectural beauty and design. The 
windows, which look out upon the streets, are mostly plain, 
not large, and almost exclusively confined to the upper stories ; 
only in few instances did I chance to see the lattice work, 
which adds so much ornament to the windows and houses in 
Cairo, and which is so essentially necessary to the strict se- 
clusion of the Turkish harim. The first floor or story, as is 
almost universal in the East, is occupied for various purposes, 
but more as a receptacle of multifarious articles than as a 
place of abode : the family of the occupant always seek the 
upper floors, which, except in the hottest part of the season, 
are more pleasant, and furnished with everything which can 
minister to the enjoyment of an oriental's life : it is a safe 
rule, too, not to judge of what a house is, or what it contains, 
by the appearance of the first or ground floor. The entrance, 
as I should have mentioned before, is through a large, some- 
times rather small door, of strong materials, and kept care- 
fully closed ; in Jerusalem, I think every door which I saw 
had an iron ring on it, which served the purposes of a 
knocker. One peculiarity in the rooms is well worth record- 
ing : there is not a house in the city, so far as I was able to 
learn or could observe, but what has several of its upper 



THE INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM. 273 

apartments with dome-shaped ceilings, which are ornamented 
ofttimes with tasteful mouldings and other pretty things, to 
set them off to advantage. These project above, generally in 
the midst of the flat roof or terrace, and form one of the very 
singular and really picturesque features about the Holy City. 
The terrace is, of course, open to the sky, and at certain 
seasons of the day, particularly in the cool of the twilight 
and evening, or in the morning hours, before the sun has 
arisen in his strength, it is not only the pleasantest spot in 
the whole house, but is resorted to by all ages and classes. 
Of course, as I have been in but few houses in Jerusalem, 
I am not able to say much of the style of furnishing or the 
points in which in these respects they differ from our habi- 
tations. To one of our habits, if I may judge by my own 
feelings, oriental houses have not many attractions ; but I 
am told, and I can well believe it, that use soon accustoms 
one to the style of living and the arrangements for comfort and 
convenience, which are common in this country, and after a 
time, it is said, foreigners become more attached to eastern 
than to western habits and customs ; — but this is a matter on 
which I need not dwell. 

The Holy City is, as you know, inhabited by a mixed 
population, consisting of Christians, Jews and Mohamme- 
dans. Of their numbers it is by no means easy to obtain 
any accurate estimate. I made many inquiries of those 
who had resided long in Jerusalem as well as of some who 
claimed this as their birth-place, and I was rather surprised 
at the singular variety of answers which were given to my 
questions. Everyone spoke vaguely ; there were about so 
many, or so many, people in the city ; and not an individ- 
ual, not even those in authority, pretended to know with any 
precision the number of the inhabitants. One person esti- 
mated the population at twenty thousand, in round numbers, 
of which five thousand were Jews ; another thought that 
there were certainly more people than this resident in Jeru- 

12* 



274 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

salem ; while a third and a fourth, were clearly convinced 
that the number was much -less than twenty thousand, esti- 
mating it at the extent as not more than fifteen thousand, of 
which less than four thousand were Jews. The truth is, no 
one knows much about the matter any way ; and at best, we 
can only approximate to the actual result. The streets are 
never thronged, except during the season when the pilgrims 
visit Jerusalem, and not even then does the city become 
very much crowded ; the bazaars have something of a bus- 
tling air, but in them also, you never find the crowds of peo- 
ple which make it so difficult to thread your way in a city 
like Cairo ; and it is undoubtedly and strikingly true, that, in 
general, the streets of the Holy City are solitary, and that 
you may often walk a long distance without meeting or see- 
ing a single individual. Hence, I am led to infer, that the 
population of Jerusalem cannot be, by any means, as large 
as the city is capable of containing ; and, perhaps, we shall 
not be far out of the way if we suppose that there are five 
thousand Christians, four thousand Jews, and six thousand 
Mohammedans, making in all fifteen thousand. Dr. Robin- 
son, in 1838, deriving his estimate from a calculation made 
from the taxable males of the city, gives the population as 
follows : Mohammedans, four thousand five hundred ; Jews, 
three thousand ; Christians, three thousand and five hundred ; 
that is, allowing for possible omissions, inmates of the con- 
vents, &c, a total of not more than eleven thousand five 
hundred.* In a matter of this kind, where so much is mere 
guess-work, it becomes no one to be very positive ; but, with 
due deference, I feel tolerably sure that the learned Doctor 
has given a number as much too low as others have in an 
opposite direction.! 

The character and condition of the people depend consider- 

* " Biblical Researches," vol. ii. p. 85. 

f Mr. Williams, in a valuable note, has collected the various estimates of the 
population of modern Jerusalem: 



POPULATION OF THE HOLY CITY. 



275 



ably upon the fact whether they are Jews, Mohammedans, 
or Christians. The Jews occupy the vicinity of Mount Zion, 
or the southern part of the city, and are, to a very great ex- 
tent, a degraded race, depending on charity for support : they 
are despised and hated by both Mohammedans and Christians : 
they live in the very narrowest lanes, and most filthy and 
disagreeable quarter of the Holy City ; and they endure scorn 
and contempt with a hardihood which no other nation or peo- 
ple ever manifested. Most of them are very poor, and nearly 
all are supported by contributions from abroad, a fact which 
has an important bearing upon the question of their becoming 
Christians ; for the mission to the Jews has not only got to 
convince them of their guilt and perversity in rejecting the 
Messiah, but, on their professing Christianity, is obliged to 
undertake their temporal support also, as a necessary conse- 
quence. Few persons ever do more than walk or ride through 



" Anthimus, Secretary of the Patriarchate (A.D. 1838) : 

Mohammedans 5,000 

Jews (about) 5,000 

r Orthodox Greek ...... 600 

Christians } Roman Catholic ... . . . 200 

f Other Christians (about) . . . .120 

10,920 

" Dr. Schultz, in 1845 : 

Mohammedans 5,000 

Jews . . 7,120 

r Greek ; 2,000 

Roman Catholic 900 

Christians J Armenian 350 

| Copts 100 

I Syrians 20 

I Aby ssinians 20 



15,510 

" The Jewish amount is the largest : 

Mohammedans . 15.000 

Jews . 5,000 

Christians 10,000 



30,000 



276 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the Jews' quarter ; both because it is far from pleasant to 
make one's way through narrow and dirty streets, and be- 
cause rarely is it possible to penetrate the cold reserve of the 
degraded Israelite, and be on such terms of familiar inter- 
course as will enable a Christian to appreciate a Jew, or a 
Jew really to understand a Christian. In general, he has an 
instinctive dislike to the believer in Christ Jesus ; and, to our 
shame be it confessed, the dislike and hatred are far too often 
mutual. To one like myself, interested deeply in the welfare 
of the chosen race, there is hardly a more instructive task 
than to visit the Jewish quarter in the Holy City, and to 
notice some peculiarities of that race, a remnant of which 
has been so miraculously preserved for ages, in order to illus- 
trate the truth of Holy Scripture, and carry out the designs 
of God, as declared in His prophetic word. As often as oc- 
casion permitted, I have gone, sometimes on my horse, more 
frequently on foot, and with a heart full of emotions of pity 
and earnest desire that the veil may soon be taken away 
which is on their hearts, have spent hours in the midst of the 
Jews' quarter : now, accosted by some aged, hoary mendi- 
cant, asking alms of one whom, in his soul, he scorns or 
hates ; now, urged to buy some trinkets of gold or silver ; now, 
meeting a Jewish maiden or two, who, casting a glance of 
mingled dislike and contempt upon the stranger, turned and 
hastened away ; now, surveying with astonishment the wretch- 
ed exteriors of their dwellings, the many offensive things 
which have been placed in their midst to annoy and insult 
them, as the shambles and the mosk in the very heart of 
their quarter, and the air of negligence, misery, degradation, 
and destitution all around ; and now, again, wondering at 
the sturdy demeanor, the unconquerable powers of endurance 
of the Jew, and the steadfastness of his adherence to those 
dogmas which he has inherited from his fathers, and which 
he is ready to die to maintain. I do assure you, my dear S., 
that this portion of the Holy City has affected me always 



ENGLISH MISSION TO THE JEWS. 



277 



very much ; and I am quite unequal to the task of describing 
the many striking characteristics, of those who occupy, at 
the present day, a portion of that illustrious city, in which 
their ancestors dwelt in power and glory. Poor, aged, care- 
worn, shrinking from the approach of strangers, fearful of 
insult, dreading oppression and outrage, living in penury and 
degradation, outcasts, bywords to their neighbors, and de- 
sirous only to lay their bones within the precincts of the city 
of the Great King, — O, how do they and their deplorable 
condition touch the sympathies of the Christian heart ! how 
do they appear before our eyes as the living witnesses of the 
truth and exactness of God's Holy Word ! and how earnestly 
does the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only and true 
Messiah, pray for their conversion, and labor to his utmost 
that they may soon be brought to the knowledge of the truth 
as it is in Jesus ! 

With such feelings as these, you will readily understand 
the deep interest which I have in the success of the English 
mission, now established and in operation at Jerusalem. I 
have had the pleasure of much intercourse with the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Gobat, the Rev. Mr. Nicolayson, and the Rev. Mr. 
Ewald ; and am much indebted to these brethren for answers 
to my numerous inquiries, as to the present prospects of their 
labors. On the whole, they spoke encouragingly, but not to 
the extent which I had hoped, or which, I think, the friends 
of the mission have had a right to expect. The establish- 
ment of the English bishopric in Jerusalem, at the very focus, 
and in the midst of every form of bitter sectarianism and 
hostility to all new-comers, promised at first to produce a 
good effect, and, like oil on the raging sea, to calm the waters 
of discontent, hatred, and actual warfare ; and it was hoped 
that the name and influence of England would not be with- 
out result, upon the Turkish and Mohammedan population 
in the Holy City. But I regret to say, that, so far as it ap- 
pears, even from the representations of those who have sup- 



278 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ported the project from the beginning, there has not been 
produced the good which was expected, and there have been 
stirred up feelings and objections, which might have been 
looked for, but which are deeply to be deplored in all questions 
of this kind. The Lutheran clergy are indignant, as a body, 
that they should be excluded from ministering in a church, 
founded and supported, in great measure, by a Lutheran 
king ; and, as an intelligent layman from Berlin warmly de- 
clared to me one day, they look upon the king of Prussia as 
having betrayed and insulted their church, and they seem 
disposed to visit no little of their censure upon the Church of 
England, for her share in the matter. Similar sentiments 
are avowed by TischendorfF, in his remarks on the " Anglican 
bishopric at Jerusalem ;" and they appear to me to be well 
worth the consideration of all interested in this question.* 
In the opposite direction, we know that a large number of the 
clergy and laity in England, highly disapproved and refused 
to sanction the amalgamation between the English Church 
and the established form of religion in Prussia, a fact which 
has tended to draw off the interest of many, not only from 
this particular matter, but from the question of the Jewish 
mission itself. I am not going to venture upon a discussion 
upon the merits of this subject, looked at in all its bearings : 
my feelings are decidedly against all attempts to form a union 
with those who differ from our Church on points of so much 
importance as the constitution of the Church and its ministry, 
for I believe, in every case, such attempts have been produc- 
tive of no permanent good results. But, as the bishopric is 
established, and the present occupant of the Episcopal chair 
is laboring diligently to carry out the object of his appoint- 
ment, I hope and trust that God may send His choicest 
blessings upon both bishop and clergy, and that they may see 
and rejoice in the fruits of their self-denying labors in His 
cause. Just at present, the number of converts is small, and 

* " Travels in the East," p. 158—166. 



THE JEWS 5 PLACE OF WAILING. 



279 



the temptations to embrace Christianity from motives other 
than those of honest conviction, are so peculiar, that unusual 
watchfulness is needed, and a long course of disciplinary in- 
struction absolutely demanded. Consequently, the mission 
does not number many who have been brought to a knowledge 
of their guilt and error ; but those who are catechumens, and 
those who have been baptized, are, I believe, really and truly 
turned from the error of their ways, and earnestly desirous to 
know and believe the truths of the Gospel. I am sure, then, 
that though you may not participate in my doubts or hesita- 
tion on this topic, you will join me heartily in wishing God 
speed to this and every effort, to restore the Jew to the privi- 
leges and blessings, of which, by his obstinacy and perverse 
continuance in sin and rebellion, he has so long been deprived. 

The Jews' place of wailing is not the least interesting 
spot in Jerusalem, and, to a Christian traveller, is very sug- 
gestive of lessons of warning and instruction. I may, not 
improperly, I hope, here speak of this and one or two other 
matters connected with the Jews in Jerusalem. It is a 
place comprising about a hundred feet of the west wall of 
the Haram, not far from its southern boundary, and one 
which, concealed in great measure from observation, in a part 
of the deep valley between Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, 
must be very touching to the feelings of the despised and 
down-trodden remnant of Israel, who here weekly assemble 
to wail and mourn over the desolation and downfall of Judah. 
I preferred not to go on a Friday, deeming it too much of an 
intrusion upon their grief, which deserves respect, at least, at 
our hands ; so, taking another day, I went to look at this 
spot, and to gaze upon the remains of the wall which Dr. Rob- 
inson and others attribute to the era of Solomon ; and if I 
may venture an opinion, not without reason. The massive 
stones, of themselves alone, point back to a period of great 
antiquity, and unless we refer the erection of so grand a 
work to the time of Solomon, I know not when, or by whom, 



280 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



it could have been accomplished ; for there has never been, 
since his days, an era of wealth and prosperity sufficient to 
enable the Jews to devote time and labor to such undertak- 
ings as these. The few Israelites, whom I chanced to see 
here on this occasion, did not appear to be much affected with 
grief or depression ; they were quite willing to act as guides 
and always ready to beg, even though they knew that I was 
a Christian. After measuring some of the stones and satis- 
fying myself of the very great size of many of them, I went 
a short distance further, and at the south-west angle of the 
temple area, beheld the evident remains of an ancient arch, 
forming part of a large bridge. Dr. Robinson identifies this 
with the bridge mentioned incidentally by Josephus, as lead- 
ing from this part of the temple across the valley of the 
Tyropoeon to the Xystus on Mount Zion ; and, in his opinion, 
£< it proves incontestably the antiquity of that portion of the 
wall from which it springs." Though century after century 
has rolled away since this massive masonry was here erected 
by that great monarch, who built the glorious and splendid 
temple of Jehovah ; and though ruin and desolation have vis- 
ited the Holy City and laid it low in the dust, its temple de- 
stroyed, and its people scattered over the face of the wide 
world ; "yet these foundations still endure, and are unmova- 
ble as at the beginning. Nor is there aught in the present 
physical condition of these remains, to prevent them from 
continuing as long as the world shall last. It was the tem- 
ple of the living God ; and like the everlasting hills on which 
it stood, its foundations were laid 1 for all time.' " # 

Leaving this interesting locality, I rode up the easterly as- 
cent of Zion, through a number of crooked lanes, and proceed- 
ing for some distance in a south-westerly direction, I came 
to a manufactory of pottery- ware, made from clay found in 
the adjacent valley of Hinnom. It is but a little way from 
the Zion gate. " Just south of the pottery" — I use the words 

* « Biblical Researches," vol. i. pp. 425, 427. 



HUTS OF THE LEPERS. 



281 



of Mr. Williams — " and hard by the city gate are the Lepers' 
Huts, a set of miserable low clay hovels, the habitations of 
these unfortunates, who are now found only at Jerusalem and 
Nablous. Dr. Schultz had occasion to visit them, and ascer- 
tained their numbers to be twenty-seven, men, women and 
children ; Mohammedans. They are allowed to intermarry, 
and thus propagate this loathsome malady, which is heredi- 
tary. They receive a miserable pittance for their mainte- 
nance, from the government, which they are fain to eke out 
by begging. And a most pitiable and disgusting sight it is 
to see the poor wretches, laid at the entrance of the gates 
of the city, asking alms of the passengers, with outstretched 
hands or stumps, in various stages of decay, under the influ- 
ence of this devouring disease, for which, I believe, no effec- 
tual remedy is known. I saw no case of that whiteness 
which is mentioned in Scripture, as the symptom of this 
disorder ; but I own that my eyes shrunk with horror from 
the contemplation of such misery, and I avoided contact with 
them as I would with one plague-stricken." # You may be 
sure that I was not less struck with the scene than the au- 
thor just quoted. It was a deplorable and almost disgusting 
sight, and the importunity of their cries for alms was, to me, 
distressing. AbOut a dozen were squatted down in the dirt, 
men, women and children, a fair little child, in whom the 
loathsome disease was not yet developed, playing in the midst ; 
and the moment they saw a stranger approaching they started 
up, most hideous objects, some of the older women, particu- 
larly, and began to beg very piteously. For the sake of that 
pretty child, whom I looked upon with the deepest compas- 
sion, I gave them an amount which excited among them 
cries of pleasure, and turned away from the sad sight, with 
a heart, more than ever, deeply impressed with the goodness 
and mercy of God toward me and mine. 

The Turkish or Mohammedan population of Jerusalem, 

* Williams's " Holy City," vol. i., Supplement, p. 24. 



282 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



occupy the north-eastern portion of the city, which is, on the 
whole, the most airy and pleasant. By their position as 
rulers and in authority, as well as by natural temperament, 
they are haughty, insolent and tyrannical. The higher of- 
ficers vary their life of indolence by listening to the wretched 
bickerings and complaints of one Christian sect or commu- 
nity against another ; by receiving bribes from both sides, to 
favor their respective projects ; and by treating with scorn 
and contempt, the quarrelsome, jealous, and vindictive Greek 
and Latin, whose mutual hatred knows no bounds. The 
underlings pursue the same course on a more limited scale ; 
the soldiery do not forget themselves in the discharge of their 
duties as guards, and from the dreadful scenes enacted in the 
church of the Holy Sepulchre, of which they are specta- 
tors, they are not likely to derive much edification, or see 
much reason for abandoning Mohammedanism, and adopting 
this caricature of Christianity ; and as for the Turks, in 
general, and others of that race, who believe in the Arabian 
impostor, they do not scruple to carry their heads higher than 
anybody else in the Holy City ; they bestow their curses, not 
to say their blows, upon both Christian and Jewish dogs, 
when they dare ; and thus feel, or affect to feel, the most su- 
preme contempt for all but themselves, and they would, had 
they the power, not hesitate to crush them under foot. Prob- 
ably they are the more bitter in their dislike from the con- 
viction, which is well nigh universal in the East, that the 
power of Mohammedanism is fading away, and that ere long 
it must sink into utter ruin and oblivion : truly, this is a 
consummation most devoutly to be wished for. 

Of the Christians in the Holy City — I mean those who 
bear the name — it is difficult to speak in terms which shall 
convey the truth, without, on the one hand, indulging in too 
great acerbity of expression, or, on the other, neglecting to 
utter the words of indignation and deep grief, which every 
serious-minded traveller must feel, when he looks upon the 



THE CHRISTIANS AND THEIR QUARRELS. 283 

deceit, dissension, and evil passion of every sort, prevalent 
among them. I dare hardly trust myself to say, what per- 
haps as one jealous for the honor and purity of the truth, I 
ought to say, on these points ; I can find no terms sufficiently 
strong, and yet not extravagant, in which to characterize 
many, many things here done and sanctioned ; you must 
allow me, therefore, to use the language of a divine, whose 
long residence in the Holy City, and whose spirit of modera- 
tion and fairness towards Christian bodies in the East, fit him 
admirably to speak with prudence and judgment : " Among 
all the exhibitions of the Christians in the Holy City, that 
which must most scandalize the infidels, is their shameful di- 
visions, accompanied with jealousies and heart-burnings, and 
not unfrequently attended with sanguinary quarrels and acts 
of violence, which call for the interference of the civil powers. A 
colored plan of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, is a picture of 
the religious dissensions which afflict the Holy City, and present 
a perpetual stumbling block to Jews and Mohammedans — one 
might almost say, a standing argument against the truth of 
the religion which we profess ; for if the unity and harmony 
of the Church be a note of the heavenly origin of the doctrine 
which it holds, the absence of these must obscure the evi- 
dence and hinder the progress of the Gospel. The supersti- 
tious practices which have been mentioned, are only obtruded 
on the notice of the Mohammedans occasionally, at stated 
seasons, but the dissensions of the various sects, fill the Holy 
City with jarring discord throughout the year. These dis- 
putes are carried to Constantinople, and submitted to the de- 
cision of the Ottoman Porte, to be ruled, not according to the 
principles of justice and equity, but as bribery, or private in- 
fluence, or political interests may chance to prevail. One or 
two examples shall be given, which will serve better than 
words, to manifest the feeling that exists between the rival 
communions. The Greeks and Latins, both enjoy the coun- 
tenance of powerful European monarchs, whence they derive 



284 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



an importance at Constantinople, which, independently of 
this, they would not possess ; the Armenians make up by 
their wealth what they lack in this respect, and are thus able 
to sway the decisions of the Porte. The Syrians and Copts, 
are too poor and too insignificant, to contend with these pow- 
erful rivals ; but being in communion with the Armenians 
they are, for the most part, identified with their interests and 
enjoy their protection ; in return for which, they are expected 
to submit to such spoliations as their protectors think right to 
inflict I would even avow a con- 

viction, forced upon me by such facts as these, and only con- 
firmed by time, that the Turks are, for the present, the best 
and safest guardians of the Holy places ; and that until the 
Christians have laid aside their animosities, the control of an 
infidel, and therefore indifferent arbiter, will be necessary to 
restrain within some bounds, those vindictive feuds which, 
even though kept in check, break out occasionally into acts 
of open and even fatal violence. It were frightful to contem- 
plate the consequences of power being given into the hands 
of any one of the Christian bodies who now divide the sacred 
city."* The social state and condition of the Christians in 
Jerusalem is, on the whole, calculated to excite our commis- 
eration ; their principal occupation is the making of crosses, 
beads, boxes, crucifixes, &c, for which they find a ready sale 
at the time of the annual influx of pilgrims ; but in general, 
the mass is very poor, very ignorant and very superstitious. 
The Holy City has no trade or commerce, and nothing to ex- 
cite emulation among its population on topics calculated to 
improve or meliorate their temporal position ; and so far as I 
am able to judge from personal inspection in a few cases, they 
are for the most part, listless, indolent, and thoughtless, and 
live on from year to year, in discontented poverty. You will 
understand, however, and make allowance for it, that excep- 
tions to this remark do exist ; for it is a fact not to be denied, 

* Williams's " Holy City;' vol. li. p. 534—538. 



HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 



285 



that there is considerable wealth hoarded up in Jerusalem, 
and in private, and unseen by the jealous Turks, some fami- 
lies live in the enjoyment of luxuries and comforts far beyond 
what might be supposed to belong to them, judging from their 
personal appearance or the exterior of their habitations. 

Here it may be well to pause awhile before turning our 
attention to other matters : let us pray for the peace of Jeru- 
salem ; as she now is, torn by dissension and trodden down 
by the scorner, her case is pitiable indeed ; but let us hope 
that God may soon arise and have mercy upon her, for His 
compassions fail not, and in the midst of wrath He remem- 
bers mercy. I know that you will join me, more fervently, 
if possible, than ever, in the petition taught us by our Divine 
Lord Himself : — " Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done on 
earth as it is in Heaven." 



LETTER XV. 



€Keti)semane— J8ount of ©llbes. 

Necessity of Omitting many Things for Want of Room.— A Walk Outside of the City.— Via 
Dolorosa. — Pass out of St. Stephen's Gate. — Scene from this Point. — Descend into the Valley 
of Jehoshaphat.— Cross the Kedron. — Garden of Gethsemane. — Deep and Solemn Feelings. 
—Our Lord's Agony.— Thoughts respecting the Last Days of His Passion.— Ascent of the 
Mount of Olives.— An Incident.— Desolateness of the Scene.— Ruins on the Summit.— The 
Foot-print in the Rock.— Pilgrim Devotion.— Question as to the Place of our Lord's Ascen- 
sion.— View Adopted.— Panorama from the Minaret near by.— Musings on the Mount of 
Olives.— David and his Rebellious Son.— Our Lord Jesus Christ.— Wept over Jerusalem. 
—His Solemn Words.— Return to the City.— Talk with Tommaso.— Sadness of the Scene at 
Evening.— A Walk around the Walls Outside.— The Citadel. Pool of Gihon, Mount Zion, 
Valley of Hinnom. — The Pool of Siloam, Fountain of the Virgin. — Some General Remarks 
in Conclusion. — Striking Natural Features of Jerusalem Anciently. — Question as to the 
Population it was Capable of Containing. — Probable Result. 

Jerusalem, April 13th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

I had hoped that my limits would admit of entering 
upon a description of several prominent objects in the Holy- 
City ; I had thought, that I might be able to give something 
of a connected account of the interior of the city, and the 
buildings and localities of importance, such as the mosk of 
Omar, the Temple-area, the Armenian, Latin, Greek and 
other convents, the Tower of Hippicus, etc. ; but I find that 
it will be quite out of my power, and I shall be compelled to 
pass over in silence, several points which require large space 
fairly to examine, and to confine myself to a few of the topics 
of interest, which it would be unpardonable to omit entirely. 
Probably, you will see little cause to regret this present ne- 
cessity on my part, for the excellent work of Mr. W. H 



VIA DOLOROSA. 



287 



Bartlett, entitled " Walks about Jerusalem," the elaborate 
volumes of Mr. Williams, and Dr. Robinson, on the same 
subject, the striking and ingenious, but not convincing, trea- 
tise of Mr. Fergusson on the " Ancient Topography of Jeru- 
salem," and other volumes, easily accessible, supply — as you 
know — the fullest information, as well on those matters which I 
shall pass over, as on those upon which I shall venture to speak. 
In the present letter, I must beg you to accompany me to 
some of the sacred spots outside of the walls of the Holy 
City, where there are attractions, I think, not inferior to any 
within the city itself. 

Imagine yourself, then, my dear S., on a bright sunny 
spring morning, to be with me at our Hotel, ready for a walk 
about Zion, and a visit to some of its touching localities. We 
are not far from the Damascus Gate, but we will not pass 
through it at this time. Let us rather proceed through the 
narrow street or lane, leading towards the heart of the city. 
In a few minutes we come to the Via Dolorosa, and turning 
off towards the East, we traverse this steep and rugged way, 
filled with thoughts of Him, whose sufferings and death were 
for our sins, and who, for our sakes, endured the cross, de- 
spising the shame. Tommaso, our guide and attendant, points 
out to us the various spots which tradition has fixed upon in 
connection with our Lord's bearing the cross, sinking under 
it with fatigue and exhaustion, the offices of love shown Him 
by some of His disciples, &c. ; we may not, it is true, believe 
all that he has learned and tells us on these points ; but we 
may remember to advantage, that our Divine Lord did un- 
dergo all the pain and torture so touchingly related of Him 
in the Gospels, and probably did pass somewhere near here 
when He was led out to be crucified. , We soon reach, after 
a turning or two, the gate in the Eastern wall, commonly, 
but I believe wrongly, called " St. Stephen's Gate," passing 
first under an archway where, according to tradition, Pontius 
Pilate showed to the people our Saviour, wearing the crown of 



288 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

thorns and the purple robe, and exclaimed, " Behold the 
man !" Hence the name, the " Arch of Ecce Homo." This 
Gate, called by the natives, both Christian and Mohamme- 
dan, Bab Sitty Miry am, or " St. Mary Gate," is ornament- 
ed by four lions, sculptured in relief, over the gateway, prob- 
ably, as Mr. Williams thinks, the work of the Christians. 
As you will observe, decoration of this kind is peculiar in 
an oriental city ; and hardly accords with the character and 
appearance of the Turkish guards who are lounging about, 
and who look at us with no friendly eyes. 

Let us pause for a moment and look around, for here we 
are gazing upon holy ground. Directly before us is the steep 
and stony descent into the Valley of Jehoshaphat ; a little 
way further, the Brook Kedron ; then Gethsemane ; and then, 
the sides and steeps of the Mount of Olives, crowned by the 
ruined Church of the Ascension. Towards the north and 
east, the valley lies in all its beauty and richness of cultiva- 
tion ; on our right, close by the wall, is the Mohammedan 
Cemetery, and the hillside, very precipitous, and reaching 
down into the depths of the valley ; and on the rise of the Mount 
opposite, and at some distance to the southeast, are the tombs 
of Jehoshaphat, Absalom, and others, and the burial-ground 
of the Jews. O what busy thoughts here come thick and 
fast upon the mind of the devout pilgrim ! and how incompe- 
tent does he feel to take in the pathos and power of what is 
spread out before him ! 

Let us go on ; the pathway is steep, and the bare rocks 
in many places are under our feet ; we meet but few persons, 
and there is a stillness and quiet well suited to the tone of 
our feelings. Ere long, we come to the dry bed of Kedron's 
Brook, and crossing it by a small arched bridge, we reach the 
foot of the Mount of Olives : near by is the supposed tomb 
of the Blessed Virgin, an edifice rather imposing in appear- 
ance, but possessing no claims on our sympathies, when we 
are close to undoubted sacred localities spoken of in Holy 



GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. 



289 



Writ. Yes, it is indeed true, that our feet are treading holy 
ground, for here, within a few yards, is the Garden of Geth- 
semane. Gethsemane ! O what emotions does this one 
word excite in our souls ! Let us enter the hallowed pre- 
cincts of that garden where " Jesus oft-times resorted with 
His disciples:" the high stone wall prevents intruders, and 
when once we are admitted we are alone, alone in a partially 
cultivated but unfruitful spot, with only eight aged and ven- 
erable olive trees to relieve the sadness of the scene.* We 
seat ourselves at the foot of one of these gnarled and time 
worn trees, and with emotions too deep for utterance, we 
open the record of the Gospels, and in the very words of the 
Apostles and Evangelists, read the pathetic history of our 
Lord's last hours of pain and anguish unutterable. Ah, will 
those words ever fade from my memory ; and shall not I, 
even I, have grace to " do well and take it patiently" when 
called upon to " suffer for it ;" shall not I, too, be enabled to 
"follow His steps" whose life is our ensample, " who did no 
sin, neither was guile found in His mouth : who, when He 
was reviled, reviled not again ; when He suffered, He threat- 
ened not ; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth 
righteously ; who His own self bare our sins in His own body 
on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto right- 
eousness ; by whose stripes we are healed ?"t Here, with 
tearful eyes, with bowed head, and bended knees, let us med- 
itate upon His agony, of whom we have just read in the 
Gospels : let us call to mind, with the deepest contrition and 
self-abasement, the ineffable sufferings, in our behalf, of the 

* " Near the same bridge and church, on the right, is the place fixed on by- 
early tradition as the site of the garden of Gethsemane. It is a plat of ground 
nearly square, enclosed by an ordinary stone wall ; [a high, plastered one has 
been recently erected]. The N. W. corner is 145 feet distant from the bridge. 
The W. side, measures 160 feet in length; and the N. side, 150 feet. Within 
this enclosure are eight very old olive trees, with stones thrown together around 
their trunks." — Robinson's " Biblical Researches," vol. i. p. 346. 

1 1 Pet. ii. 20-24. 

13 



290 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



" Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," of Him who 
so plaintively uttered the fearful words, " my soul is exceed- 
ing sorrowful, even unto death." # 

" Dear sacred haunts of glory and of woe, 
Help us, one hour, to trace His musings high and low : 
One heart-ennobling hour ! It may not be 

Th' unearthly thoughts have passed from earth away, 
And fast as evening sunbeams from the sea 

Thy footsteps all in Sion's deep decay 
Were blotted from the holy ground : yet dear 
Is every stone of hers ; for Thou wast surely here. 

There is a spot within this sacred dale 
That felt Thee kneeling— touch'd Thy prostrate brow : 

One angel knows it. might prayer avail 
To win that knowledge ! sure each holy vow 

Less quickly from the unstable soul would fade, 

Offer'd where Christ in agony was laid."f 

Meet is the place, fitting is the hour, for sinners, like our- 
selves, to learn something of the enormity of sin which de- 
manded such a sacrifice as that of the precious Lamb of God, 
without spot or blemish ; and too deep for utterance are our 
thoughts, and our devout supplications and prayers to Him, 
who, not many steps distant, "kneeled down and prayed, say- 
ing, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me : 
nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done:" and who, " be- 
ing in an agony, prayed more earnestly ; and His sweat was 
as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."! 
Do you not remember reading with me, on one occasion, out 
of one of the noblest works of an age great in divines, what 
is there so well and so truly said ? let me repeat it for our 
edification: "The Evangelists have in such language ex- 
pressed His agony as cannot but raise in us the highest ad- 
miration at the bitterness of that passion. ; He began to 



* Is. liii. 3 ; Matt. xxvi. 38. f Keble's « Christian Year," p. 99. 

4: St. Luke, xxii. 41-44. 



LAST DAYS OF THE HOLY WEEK. 



291 



be sorrowful,' saith St. Matthew (xxvi. 37). ' He began to be 
sore amazed,' saith St. Mark(xiv. 33). ' and to be very heavy,' 
say both (ibid) : and yet these words in our translation, come 
far short of the original expressions, which render Him sud- 
denly, upon a present and immediate apprehension, possessed 
with fear, horror and amazement, encompassed with grief, and 
overwhelmed with sorrow, pressed down with consternation 
and dejection of mind, tormented with anxiety and disquie- 
tude of spirit." And again: "If the true contrition of one 
single sinner, bleeding under the sting of the Law only for 
his own iniquities, all which notwithstanding, he knoweth 
not, cannot be performed without great bitterness of sorrow 
and remorse ; what bounds can we set unto that grief, what 
measures to that anguish, which proceedeth from a full ap- 
prehension of all the transgressions of so many millions of 
sinners ?" # 

While standing or kneeling here, how vividly do the events 
of the Holy Week seem to present themselves before us ! It 
will be profitable to our souls' health, to call to mind, and to 
go over, step by step, the last days of His passion in our be- 
half. On the evening of Wednesday, the first day of un- 
leavened bread began,! and it would seem that it was mainly 
spent with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, or in this 
garden, where he was accustomed to meet and discourse with 
them, and whither he returned ofttimes for solitary medita- 
tion and prayer. The next morning, " Thursday before 
Easter," in the Church's calendar, He sent Peter and John to 

*Bp. Pearson's « Exposition of the Creed," p. 281-283. 

fit is necessary to bear in mind, that the day among the Jews began at sun- 
set of the day previous; thus, after six o'clock, or sunset, on Wednesday, it was 
the next day, or Thursday; after the same hour on Thursday, it was Friday, or 
the day of our Lord's crucifixion, on which day He instituted the Lord's Supper, 
was betrayed by Judas, was condemned to death, was crucified, dead and buried : 
the Sabbath began at sunset on Friday. Hence our Lord's body was in the 
Sepulchre, part of Friday, all of Saturday, and a part of Sunday, which was 
the third day, and the one on which His glorious resurrection took place. 



292 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



make preparations for the paschal supper, to be eaten that 
evening, after sunset, when Good Friday had begun. Early 
in the evening they all assembled in the " large upper room, 
furnished and prepared," and Jesus and the twelve sat down, 
or rather reclined on the couches, to eat the supper. As they 
were eating, our Saviour uttered those most touching words : 
" Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me 
shall betray me." What sorrow, what astonishment, what 
horror was depicted in the countenances of those chosen few, 
as one by one they asked the question, " Lord, is it I ?" 
What shame and guilty confusion did Judas Iscariot mani- 
fest, when, last of all, in a low voice, knowing the foul pur- 
pose he was about to execute, he, too, having asked, " Is it 
I ?" the Saviour pointedly replied, it is — you are the traitor — 
"that thou doest do quickly." It was now that He uttered 
that long, touching, and consolatory discourse, so fully re- 
corded by St. John : it was now that He instituted the holy 
Sacrament, by which His death is to be commemorated until 
His coming again in power and great glory : it was now, after 
having sung a hymn, that He left the chamber, accompanied 
by the eleven, trod the lonely street, passed out of the gate, 
reproved the unseemly wrangling of his disciples ; and, while 
the silvery moon shed its soft rays on the hillside, descended 
the stony path, and entered, for the last time, the Garden of 
Gethsemane. The hour, we may suppose, to have been be- 
tween eight and nine ; and now began, indeed, the bitter 
and intense agony, of which words can give no idea. Eight 
of the disciples were not far off; Peter, and James, and John 
were nearer to Him : He himself suffering the anguish of a 
world's sins, laid upon Him, when in His agony He cried out, 
"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." 
Prostrate on the ground, " His sweat, as it were, great drops 
of blood," the wrath of God against sin, all heaped on His 
head — well might He have expected the sympathizing conso- 
lations of those chosen three, whom He had taken aside to 



GOOD FRIDAY EVE. 



293 



watch with Him. But they were asleep ; their sorrow had 
overcome them, and, forgetful of His warnings, they neglected 
the needful preparation of watchfulness and prayer, to fit 
them for the trials even now at hand. Twice He came to 
them and rebuked them for their conduct : Why sleep ye ? 
Simon, sleepeth thou? could ye not watch with me one 
hour ? The third time, after He had drunk the cup of agony 
to its very dregs, He came to them and saith unto them, sleep 
on now, and take your rest ; it matters not now ; it is 
enough ; the hour is come ; behold the Son of Man is betrayed 
into the hands of sinners. 

And while He is yet speaking, see, the hillside is alive with 
armed men, torches gleaming, and a band of soldiers coming 
on. See them as they approach ; they descend into the valley, 
they cross the brook, they advance to the garden where Jesus 
is ; and O, see, the traitor is at their head : the traitor comes 
forward ; the traitor dares to meet his innocent Master, and 
to salute that sacred cheek with a kiss : to the traitor was 
addressed the severe rebuke, which should have stricken him 
to the earth — " Judas, betray est thou the Son of Man with a 
kiss ?" "What confusion follows ! The soldiers, on our Lord's 
naming Himself, go backward and fall to the ground ; the 
impetuous Peter draws a sword, and smites off the ear of the 
High Priest's servant : the Lord Jesus suffers Himself to be 
apprehended and led away by the band ; and all the disciples, 
the self-confident Peter among the rest, forsake the Saviour, 
and take to flight. Alone, and abandoned to His mortal enemies, 
He is taken in the dead of night, in bonds and suffering contu- 
mely and insult, to the house of Annas first, thence to the palace 
of Caiaphas, the high priest, and thence to the Prsetorium of 
Pilate. The mockings and insults which He endured for our 
sake ; the detestable hypocrisy of the Jewish authorities ; the 
heartless reviling and abuse of Herod and his men ; the 
cool, unblushing injustice and wrong inflicted by the vacil- 
lating Roman ; the foul indignities heaped upon Him by the 



294 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



brutal soldiery ; all He suffered with a calmness and heavenly 
serenity, which He alone ever manifested. Yes, He endured 
all things for the sake of us sinners — he endured the scorn 
and contempt of those who sought to glut their revenge with 
His blood, crying out in their blind and awful hatred, " His 
blood be on us and on our children." He endured the deser- 
tion of His disciples, the shameful denial of Peter, the crown 
of thorns, the bearing of His cross, the fainting anguish of 
body and soul, the nailing to the cross, and the agony of that 
death on the cross, all, all for us, whom He died to save, and 
without whose sacrifice we were lost forever. 

As with full hearts, we leave this sacred spot, let our 
thoughts and aspirations be those of the penitent, believing 
and obedient ; for " there should be no greater comfort to 
Christian persons, than to be made like unto Christ, by suf- 
fering patiently, adversities, troubles, and sicknesses. For 
He Himself, went not up to joy, but first He suffered pain ; 
He entered not into His glory, before He was crucified. So 
truly our way to eternal joy is to suffer here with Christ ; 
and our door to enter into eternal life is gladly to die with 
Christ; that we may rise again from death and dwell with 
Him in everlasting life."* 

Let us continue our walk up the side of the Mount of 
Olives; the ascent is not steep, except here and there, and 
as we go on you will see how many points of view there are 
from which Jerusalem, even now, is not deficient in beauty 
and sublimity. As you perceive, the number of trees is not 
large, much less so, doubtless, than in early days, when this 
lofty hill received its name from the abundance of trees 
which flourished on its slopes and steeps. Here and there, 
in some retired spot or enclosure, a little way from the path, 
are parties of women and children, who have come out of 
the dull, hot city, to sit under the trees and on the green- 
sward, and to enjoy the delight of chatting one with another, 

* Exhortation in the " Order for the Visitation of the Sick." 



ASCENT TO MOUNT OF OLIVES. 



295 



in unrestrained freedom. But see ; there is a little girl who 
is throwing stones at us ; and why ? do you suppose : let us 
ask the reason, if reason there be, " What do you mean by 
throwing stones at us?" the answer comes quickly and 
pertly; — "what do you want by looking at us as you did? 
and if you don't go away and not look where we are, we 
will throw more stones at you, you Christian dogs." Such 
is the spirit breathed into the young by the bigotted and fa- 
natical Mohammedans. Tommaso is excessively indignant, 
and returns their abuse in kind if not in amount ; but we 
can well afford to pass it by, and continue our upward walk. 
We meet but very few persons, and were we to judge by these 
evidences of life and activity round about the Holy City, we 
should see and feel, most deeply, how true it is, that she is 
trodden down and desolate. Instead of the busy hundreds 
and thousands moving to and fro, engaged in their daily oc- 
cupations, we see only single individuals, or occasional small 
parties ; instead of the distant hum and noise of a populous 
city, not a sound is heard, and stillness like that of the grave 
broods over everything ;■ — 

" No martial myriads muster in thy gate ; 
No suppliant nations in thy Temple wait ; 
No prophet bards, thy glittering courts among, 
Wake the full lyre, and swell the tide of song ; 
But lawless force, and meagre want are there, 
And the quick darting eye of restless fear, 
While cold oblivion, 'mid the ruins laid, 
Folds his dank wing beneath the ivy shade :"* — 

And when we stand still for a few moments, and look around 
us, how dreary seems the scene, and how true and exact the 
words of prophetic denunciations against the wickedness and 
rebellion of the people. 

We here find the ruins of a large edifice, the scant re- 
mains of what tradition informs us was the church built by the 

* Bishop Heber's " Palestine" 



296 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



empress Helena, to mark the place of our Lord's ascension. We 
enter a small portal, which admits us into a paved court of 
considerable extent, and open to the sky. Various altars, 
belonging to the Christian bodies in Jerusalem, are ranged 
around, and in the centre of the court is a small circular 
building surmounted by a cupola, and once, judging from the 
finished marble columns half hid by the rough plaster, beauti- 
ful and striking, but now, presenting but few attractions. 
The keeper of the deserted mosk near by, has the key of this 
building also ; after some search Tommaso finds him ; he un- 
locks the door and we go in : the room is empty, having on 
one side the Mohammedan kebleh, or niche of prayer, in the 
direction of Mecca, and close by, a portion of the rock, en- 
closed with marble side-pieces, and sunk a little below the 
level of the floor. Tommaso, our attendant, pointed out to 
us very earnestly, the supposed foot-print, which a worthless 
tradition teaches the simple and credulous pilgrim to be- 
lieve to have been that made by our Lord, when He last 
stood upon the earth. Several women, Mohammedans mostly, 
have entered with us, and whatever we may think of the 
thing itself, we cannot but be struck with the deep devotion 
with which they prostrate themselves here, and kiss the rock ^ 
which they have been told marks so sacred a spot. We may 
not do as they and many thousand Christian pilgrims have 
done, for there must be something on which to base our faith in 
such matters, beyond the monkish story, telling of a miracle 
well nigh puerile, and wholly unlike aught that our Saviour 
ever did. Let us not, however, because we reject what has 
no foundation, and is not in accordance with the dignity and 
elevation of Holy Scripture, therefore cast away the tradi- 
tion, ancient and clear, and not opposed to, but in harmony 
with the Evangelists' statements, on which rests the belief 
that here, from the summit of the Mount of Olives, our Lord 
and Master ascended into heaven. Let us recur to the pas- 
sages giving an account of this glorious event : " And He led 



PLACE OF THE ASCENSION. 



297 



them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands 
and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed 
them, He was parted from them, and carried up into hea- 
ven." " And when He had spokea these things, while they 
beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of 

their sight Then returned they unto Jerusalem from 

the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath 
day's journey."* Now, in the first place, it is plain that 
these passages must be in harmony one with the other, and it 
will be wrong to press either so as to do away with the force of 
the other. No doubt, our Lord led His disciples out as far as 
to Bethany ; equally certain is it, that when He was taken 
up, His disciples returned from the Mount of Olives to the 
Holy City, from which they were distant only a Sabbath 
day's journey. Hence, we are reduced to this point, either 
to suppose that by the word " Bethany" is not meant the vil- 
lage on the eastern slope of the Mount, and fifteen stadia 
from Jerusalem, but the district or vicinity of the village, 
which it is thought by good authorities extended even to the 
summit of the Mount, where the Holy City is in full view;f 
or, to suppose that a Sabbath day's journey was not, what 
the best writers agree that it was, seven or eight furlongs, 
but fifteen, and that there is no force or pertinency in the 
expressions in the Acts, " then returned they unto Jerusalem 
from the Mount called Olivet,"— from that part of it which 
was a mile distant from the city, and not nearly two miles, 
as the village of Bethany is. The former supposition ap- 
pears to me, the only one by which the apparent discrepancy 
can be reconciled ; and when we add to this view the consid- 

* Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 9, 12. 

t The passages in St. Mark (xi. 1), and St. Luke (xix. 29), deserve especial 
notice in this connection ; " and when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto 
Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sendeth forth" &c, im- 
plying clearly, as it seems to me, that Bethphage and Bethany are names ap- 
plied to districts, or portions of some extent, on the sides of the Mount of Olives. 

13* 



298 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

eration that, as Dr. Robinson says, " one of the very earliest 
traditions on record" points out this portion of the Mount of 
Olives as the place of the ascension, we shall, T am quite 
sure, have no doubt of the trustworthiness of the tradition, 
though pronounced by Robinson to be " obviously false," and 
of the verity of our Lord's ascension from this spot.* 

While here, let us, by all means, mount the ruined mina- 
ret, attached to the deserted mosk close at hand ; for from its 
summit is one of the finest views, as well of the Holy City, 
as of the vicinity of Jerusalem, which can anywhere be ob- 
tained. Long may we gaze at the prospect at this genial 
hour, when the bright sun is declining in the west ; and as, 
filled with varied emotions, we look upon the Holy City, in 
all its beauty and sublimity, which caused the psalmist to 
style it "the perfection of beauty," we may catch something 
of the poetic enthusiasm of the host under the noble Godfrey, 
on first beholding Zion's consecrated heights : — 

<£ Lo, tower'd Jerusalem salutes the eye ! 

A thousand pointing fingers tell the tale ; 

'Jerusalem !' a thousand voices cry, 

c All hail, Jerusalem !' hill, down and dale, 
Catch the glad sounds, and shout, ' Jerusalem, all hail !' "f 

Behold and see what a scene is this ! " Immediately be- 
low, even to the opposite brink of the Valley Kedron, Jeru- 
salem lies spread out before us. The strong outlines of the 
Castle of David are seen on the western horizon. The cupo- 
las of the convents of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the 
slender minaret on the northeast hill of the city, one after 

* I am happy to find that Tischendorff accords with this view, in opposition, as 
he declares, to that of Dr. Robinson : after quoting the passages from St. Luke, 
he says, " In my opinion, these words are to be understood no otherwise than 
that Christ ascended into heaven at the point whence the Apostles returned into 
the city. The position of this chapel admirably harmonizes with this view." — 
" Travels in the East, 1 ' p. 173 ; see also Williams's " Holy City," vol. ii. p. 439- 
446 ; and Robinson's " Biblical Researches" vol. l. p. 375, 405. 

f Tasso's " Jerusalem Delivered," Cant. hi. 3. 



VIEW FROM MOUNT OLIVET. 299 

another, stand out to view in the maze of the many roofs of 
houses, some with low vaults, some flat, and surrounded by 
distinct, perforated walls, which again we pursue, until we 
cast a calm look into the great court of the Haram, inacces- 
sible to us, and contemplate the beauty of the mosks, of the 
octagonal Sakhrah, covered with the most beautiful cupola 
imaginable, and of the Aksa, reminding one of the Basilica 
form of the Christian churches, surrounded in solemn silence 
and almost melancholy, by the lively verdure and flourishing 
trees, such scarcities in these parts. If we turn our eyes tow- 
ards the south, a lofty range of the mountains of Judah 
limits the horizon in a wide sweep, commencing at the moun- 
tains of Tekoa, and running westward. The Frank Moun- 
tain (Jebel Furdeis), and the environs of Bethlehem, are also 
visible. Nearer to us, and in the same direction, lies a ridge, 
whereupon stands the Greek monastery of Mar Elias : on 
this side lies the plain, supposed to be the plain of ' Rephaim,' 
contracting itself towards the southwest, into the Rose Val- 
ley (Wady el-Ward), which conveys to the environs of Jeru- 
salem from the sea, damp fogs or cooling sea-breezes, accord- 
ing to the season. Towards the west lies the nearest parallel 
slope of the mountain ridge, which bears the Holy City itself, 
and over which lies the Jaffa road. If we turn further to the 
north, there the height of Neby Samwil rises up steeply with 
its mosk, from whence one can see the Mediterranean : fur- 
ther in the background, the mountains of Samaria ; and 
lastly, towards the east, we have the valley of the Jordan 
beneath us, where a green streak on a whitish ground marks 
the course of the river towards the Dead Sea, into the mirror 
of which we here and there look, between the undulating 
hills on this side, and see how it reflects the rocky shores be- 
yond. And if we follow the eastern boundary of the plain 
of the Jordan from north to south, there is a continuous chain 
of mountains, as far as the steep cliffs of the Dead Sea, above 
which rises, deeper in the country, Jebel Shihan, with its 



300 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



compressed and gently rising summit, which is in the winter 
time frequently covered with snow ; while close to the sea 
the valley-clefts of the Zerka river and the Arnon (Wady 
Mojeb) are plainly to be distinguished ; and during clear 
weather, the old fortress Kerak also appears like a rock-nest, 
where the sea has long since disappeared from our eyes, 
which, after a complete circle, again rest on the place 
whence we set out." 

This graphic description of the view from the summit of 
the mount of Olives, is from the pen of the amiable and ex- 
cellent Dr. Schultz, formerly Prussian consul at Jerusalem, 
and probably more intimately acquainted with the Holy 
City and its environs than any man living.^ Having been 
privileged to gaze upon the magnificent panorama of which 
he speaks, we can testify to its accuracy and fidelity ; and 
we can well be content to adopt his words instead of any 
feebler ones which I myself might write. We may not, how- 
ever, leave this sacred mountain-top without reflecting for a 
few moments upon the deeply instructive past, and calling to 
mind some of the scenes to which this mount has been 
witness. 

More than a thousand years before the advent of our Lord, 
the sacred historian tells us of the trials and sufferings of the 
royal psalmist on this very mountain-side. An ungrateful, 
unnatural son, with artful hypocrisy, had corrupted the 
hearts and minds of his father's subjects, and drawn them 
into actual rebellion. His own crimes that loving father had 
forgiven freely, and yet Absalom conspired against him to 
deprive him of his kingdom and life. When David ascer- 
tained the strength and extent of the conspiracy, and found 
that " the hearts of the men of Israel were after Absalom," 
he said to the faithful few with him at Jerusalem, " Arise, 
and let us flee ; for we shall not else escape from Absalom ; 
make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring 

* I quote from Mr. William's < ; Holy City," vol. ii. p. 438. 



david and david's lord. 



301 



evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword." 
With eager haste they make their preparations ; they pass 
out of the gate ; they descend the steep and stony path into 
the valley of Jehoshaphat ; all weep with a loud voice ; and 
the king and people pass over the Brook Kedron, towards the 
way of the wilderness. The afflicted king refuses to allow 
the ark of God to be carried away from the city, and in his 
humiliation exclaims, if the Lord say, " I have no delight 
in thee ; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth 
good unto Him." " And David went up by the ascent of 
mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head 
covered, and he went barefoot; and all the people that was 
with him covered every man his head, and they went up, 
weeping as they went up." It was an hour of bitterness 
and woe ; it was followed by days of hardship and suffering ; 
and at the last the cup of his affliction ran over, when the 
vindictive Joab slew his son, and the king went up to his 
chamber and wept; "and as he went, thus he said, O my son 
Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had died 
for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son !"* As we think of 
these affecting events, and call to mind the adultery and 
wickedness of the king, great and good as he was, how truly 
do we feel the prophet's words beginning to have their ac- 
complishment in one who had given great occasion to the 
enemies of the Lord to blaspheme,— " now, therefore, the 
sword shall never depart from thine house." May God keep 
us from presumptuous sins, lest they get the dominion 
over us ! 

In the lapse of ages this same mount was trodden by One 
who was David's Lord as well as David's Son. In the days 
of His flesh, He ofttimes spent hours and hours in the shady 
groves of Olivet ; and when His ministry was drawing to a 
close, He was wont to leave the city, at the approach of 
night, and to resort to the Mount of Olives to pray and med- 

* 2 Sam. xv. 30 ; xviii. 33. 



302 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



itate against the time of his agony and death. It was on His 
last visit to the Holy City, that as He drew nigh and had 
passed through Bethphage and Bethany, that He sent two of 
His disciples for the ass and the colt in order that He might 
make His entry into the city of His own, though His own 
received him not. They spread their garments upon the an- 
imal ; they placed the Redeemer thereupon, and as they went 
by that same path over which we, too, have passed in reach- 
ing the mountain-top, they acknowledged Him as their King ; 
" a very great multitude spread their garments in the way ; 
others cut down branches from the trees and strewed them in 
the way ; and the multitudes that went before and that fol- 
lowed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David ; Blessed 
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord : Blessed be the 
kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the 
Lord : Hosanna in the highest ; peace in heaven, and glory 
in the highest." Pharisaic pride and ignorance asked for a 
reproof on these rejoicing thousands ; but " He answered and 
said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their 
peace, the stones would immediately cry out." From this 
point, as He was now descending the hill-side on which we 
are standing, He beheld the city, the glorious city, as she lay 
spread out in her magnificence and strength before Him ; and 
from those sacred eyes flowed tears of infinite love and com- 
passion. He, who knew the end from the beginning, He 
who knew the emptiness and nothingness of all human 
power, might and splendor, He wept over Jerusalem, and 
exclaimed from the depths of His mercy and goodness, " If 
thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the 
things which belong unto thy peace ! — but now they are hid 
from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that 
thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass 
thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee 
even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and 
they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another ; because 



A TALK "WITH TOMMASO. 303 

thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."* Yes, it was 
even so ; and we who are privileged to be here, where our 
Lord was in the days of His suffering and humiliation, can 
now begin to comprehend better than we ever did, the touch- 
ing pathos of those words of His, " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are 
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children 
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
wings, and ye would not !" Ah, thou ruined and degraded 
city, thy house is left unto thee desolate ; Zion is ploughed 
as a field ; Jerusalem has become heaps, and the mountain 
of the house as the high places of the forest ;f and our eyes 
look upon the scene this day. Shall it be without effect? 
shall not our tears, too, be poured forth for our own sins ? 
shall not our supplications go up for the suffering and deso- 
late city of the Great King ? shall we not pray that God our 
Saviour, who ascended into heaven from this mount, will 
hasten on the day of His coming again to save His elect from 
every nation that is under heaven ? 

■ But we may not linger here : the hour is getting late ; the 
sun will soon sink to his nightly couch ; and we must, would 
we repose in the Holy City to-night, make our entrance 
before sunset. Let us go, then ; leaving all thoughts of the 
avenging Roman, who brought destruction upon Jerusalem, 
as our Lord had predicted, and the many reminiscences of 
the Crusaders and their host, who once stood and gazed as 
we now gaze upon the fairest city for situation of the whole 
earth, let us descend the slope of Olivet on our way to our 
home. As you observe* by his looks, Tommaso appears to 
have somewhat upon his mind to ask us about ; let us hear 
him : " Well, my master.*' he says, addressing me, " you no 
believe what you see in the rock up there ?" pointing back- 
ward by a gesture. " No, Tommaso, do you?" "Yes, 

* St. Luke, xix. 29. 35-44 ; St. Matt, m 8, 9 ; St. Mark, xi 9 ; 10. 
t Micah, iii. 12. 



304 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



yes, I believe it ; what for you no believe it ?" "I will tell 
you, Tommaso, presently ; but first, let me know why you 
think that our Saviour left the mark of His foot upon the 
rock before His ascension into heaven." " O, my priest tell 
me so ; and he know more than I do ; I am ignorant and 
can't read ; but my priest and the bishop too, tell me so, and 
everybody here believe it ; what for you no believe it !" " Tom- 
maso, suppose your priest were to tell you that this piece of stone 
wasnot stone, but bread? would you believe it because he knows 
more than you do ?" " No, no, my master, but my priest never 
tell me such thing." " I dare say not ; that would be running 
too great a risk ; your credulity would not take in quite that ; 
but did the priest ever tell you how he knew that this mark on 
the rock was what he says it is ? did he tell you that he found 
it in the Bible ? did he tell you that any of the first Christians 
ever heard of this story ? No ; I am sure he did not. Now, 
Tommaso, you ask me why I do not believe this to be our 
Saviour's foot-print ; I will tell you. This volume in my 
hand contains the Holy Gospels, which give us an account of 
all that the Apostles and Evangelists wrote concerning our 
Saviour ; I have read it through and through a good many 
times, and there is no.t a word in it about this story. I have 
read, too, a great many other books, some written by Christians 
a thousand, and fifteen, sixteen, seventeen hundred years ago, 
and some by those in later times, and I tell you, Tommaso, 
that there was no such thing as this ever heard of in old 
times. Remember, that I am a priest, too, and can read as 
well as your priest, who tells you this and a good many other 
stories which are not true. Besides, Tommaso, I want you 
to think a little about another thing. Our Saviour did a 
great many miracles ; He healed the sick ; He cleansed the 
lepers ; He cured the lame and the blind and the lunatic ; He 
raised the dead ; and hundreds and thousands of such things 
as these : all of them we understand why He did them ; there 
was reason and fitness in such miracles ; there was love and 



LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS. 



305 



mercy in all that He did ; there was dignity and propriety in 
every word and act of His : but if you can see any reason, 
or anything profitable to soul or body in such a childish thing 
as making the mark of His foot on the rock, I cannot ; and I 
should be sorry to believe that any sensible man, any one 
who loves and adores his Saviour, can really credit a story 
like this. Do you understand, Tommaso, what I have been 
saying ?" " No, my master, not much ; but I know that 
the English who come here only laugh, and don't believe 
anything which I tell them." " There you're wrong ; they 
don't believe everything, that is true, as I have been telling 
you ; but they know that in this city our Saviour once was ; 
they know that this is the Mount of Olives, that there is 
Gethsemane, there the temple stood, there is Zion ; and in 
the city they well know is the spot where our Lord suffered 
on the cross, was dead and buried for our sakes ; this is what 
I believe and know, Tommaso ; but Protestants like the Eng- 
lish, must have some grounds better than you tell me about, 
to credit the absurd stories which I have heard from you, 
and which your priests teach you, expecting you to believe 
them whether they have any sense in them or not." Tom- 
maso shakes his head, as though he did not know exactly 
what to think ; and I suspect that very few have taken the 
trouble which we have to let in an idea into his contracted 
mind. Perhaps — though I am by no means sanguine — he 
will try to understand matters better in future ; it is, how- 
ever, too much to be hoped for that he will ever be able to 
discriminate between the false and true, and thus become an 
intelligent, active, useful guide to the traveller and Christian 
pilgrim. 

We may not now stop to examine those monuments of other 
days, not far to our left, said to be the tomb of Absalom, the 
tomb of Jehoshaphat, the cave of St. James, &c. ; neither 
can we linger here in the valley of Jehoshaphat, beautiful as 
it is, with its fig, olive, and pomegranate trees, and its gar- 



306 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



dens of melons and cucumbers ; and full of solemn interest, 
as it must always be in connection with the glowing lan- 
guage of the prophet Joel (ch. iii. 1, &c). We mount, slowly 
and thoughtfully, the steep and stony path to St. Stephen's 
gate, whence hours ago we came out ; and as we traverse the 
lonely streets once more, at this hour of the day, we are more 
than ever struck with their deserted appearance, and with 
the sad and mournful condition of the Holy City : do not the 
words of lamentation and sorrow seem, as it were, to force 
themselves on our minds ; and can we refrain from uttering, 
to ourselves, at least, the language of that holy man whose 
eyes ran down " with rivers of waters for the destruction of 
the daughter of his people ?" 

" How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people ! 
How is she become a widow ! she that was great among the nations ! 
And princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary ! 

All that pass by clap their hands at thee ; 

They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, 
" Is this the city that men call ' The perfection of beauty/ ' The joy of the 
whole earth V "* 

It may be well, my dear S., before sending the present let- 
ter, that I should include in it a brief account of what I have 
several times seen in walking or riding round the exterior of 
the city. If you will be so good as to look at the map or 
plan of Jerusalem, given a while ago, you will readily, and I 
doubt not, intelligibly, follow me in this interesting walk. 
We pass out of the Damascus gate, which is the nearest to 
the hotel, and toning to the left, we proceed to make the en- 
tire circuit of the city walls. You notice here, that though 
there are hills close by, they are not so high or commanding 
as in other parts, and that towards the north, is quite a broad, 
cultivated plain or valley, which, it appears, Agrippa intended 
to include in the city, when he projected enlarging its limits 



* Lam. i. 1 ; ii. 15. 



EXTERIOR OF JERUSALEM. 



307 



on the north, and fortifying it in such wise as would have ren- 
dered it impregnable. As we advance, it is worth while to 
observe that the present walls are built, to some extent, upon 
the solid rock, which rises here and there considerably above 
the surface, and that the rocks have been scarped — I believe 
that is the term — and the fosse, or regularly constructed ditch, 
for the most part wholly neglected. In a military point of 
view, of course, I am unable to speak of the walls ; but I 
have heard the sentiment expressed, that they would prove of 
little service against an invading army well supplied with ar- 
tillery. # The side on which we now are has always been the 
most vulnerable, and from the time of the Romans down- 
ward, Jerusalem has been attacked and taken from the north- 
erly approach ; there seems no reason to doubt that the walls 
could easily be breached, and the city entered, even by a 
small, well-appointed force. After a little while we come to 
the northwestern angle of the wall, which, as shown on the 
plan, appears to project a considerable distance, as if for the 
purpose of including some spot useful in a military point of 
view. We shall see, by and by, what bearing this part of the 
wall has on the question of the verity of the site generally 
believed to be that of the Holy Sepulchre. Following the 
course of the wall, we soon after reach the Bethlehem or 
Jaffa gate, and have in full view the large, massive fortress or 
citadel, which, doubtless, properly manned, would be a place 
of very great strength. The foundations seem to be of very 
early date, and at one corner you notice the square, solidly 

* Mr. Williams quotes the opinion of Lieutenant-Colonel Alderson of the 
Corps of Royal Engineers, to whom we are indebted for the Ordnance Survey, 
made in 1841. Speaking of the Tower of David, he says, " It would require 
heavy artillery to breach it. The walls too of the city are sufficiently strong to 
require something more than field artillery to effect a breach in them ; whilst 
their position, surrounded on every side by mountains, and difficult of approach 
for heavy artillery, gives to the fortifications which surround the Holy City an 
importance which their first appearance would not seem to justify." — " Holy 
City;' vol. i. p. 441 



308 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



built tower, which Dr. Robinson supposes to be the tower of 
Hippicus ; but Mr. Williams controverts this view, and I 
think successfully. On our right, you see the valley of Gi- 
hon, as it has been termed, and not far off the remarkable 
excavation, marked on the maps as the lower pool of Gihon ; 
it is now quite dry and useless, but in the earlier days of 
Jerusalem's prosperity, it, and the one farther up the valley, 
must have been important to the comfort and refreshment of 
the city. The view here is like what may be seen, alas, 
nearly everywhere in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, produ- 
cing upon the mind a deep feeling of sadness and sorrow, for 
the degraded and unhappy condition of the city of David. 
The soil appears barren and unfruitful ; here and there are a 
few trees and some terraced spots under cultivation ; but 
mostly all is stony, dry, and yielding little or no increase. 
In a few minutes we come to the corner of the wall which 
turns towards the east, crossing the crown of Mount Zion. 
Here in this vicinity are the cemeteries of the Christians in 
Jerusalem, as well as that not long ago purchased by the 
American mission, as the resting place of their dead. From 
this point, we will diverge from the wall, and include in our 
walk the valley of Hinnom, and some points of interest near 
at hand. 

You will notice, as we proceed, what is not very clear on 
the map, how rugged and steep are the southerly sides and 
slopes of Mount Zion ; and when, after a while, we find our- 
selves in the gorge of the hills, the Hill of Evil Counsel on 
the one hand, and Zion on the other, with the lovely vale of 
Hinnom stretching out before us, we cannot but give ourselves 
to the recollections of bygone days, and the sober and chast- 
ening reflections which these localities must ever produce. 
The idolatrous monarchs of Judah here dishonored and de- 
spised the Lord in worshipping stocks and stones, and here 
caused His fierce anger to burn against the wickedness of His 
people. Ahaz " made molten images for Baalim : moreover he 



SCENES IN THE VALE OF HINNOM. 



309 



burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt 
his children in the fire, after the abomination of the heathen, 
whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel." 
Manasseh, the wicked son of the good Hezekiah, did evil in 
the sight of the Lord ; " and he caused his children to pass 
through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom ;" but his 
grandson, the noble young Josiah, walked in all the way of 
David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to 
the left; " and he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the 
children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his 
daughter to pass through the fire to Moloch." He made it a 
receptacle for the burnt carcasses and bones, and the filth and 
refuse of the city, keeping fires there continually, in order to 
consume what was thrown into it, and to render it ever after 
odious in the eyes of the idolatrously inclined people. 
" Hence," as says the learned Joseph Mede, "this place 
being so many ways execrable, it came to be translated to 
signify the place of the damned, as the most accursed, exe- 
crable, and abominable of all places." What a striking figure 
must it have been to a Jew, this of Gehenna, where the un- 
quenchable fires of eternal torment await the guilty and con- 
demned soul ! And ought not we, remembering our Lord's 
most solemn and awful words, to take good heed lest we also 
come into that place of horrors, of which language can give 
no idea, and from which there is no release ? # " There is 

* " First, Moloch, horrid king, besmear'd with blood 
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears ; 
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud, 
Their children's cries unheard, that pass'd through fire 
To his grim idol. Him the Ammonite 
Worshipped in Rabba and her watery plain, 
In Argob and in Basan, to the stream 
Of utmost Arnon. Nor content with such 
Audacious neighborhood, the wisest heart 
Of Solomon he led by fraud to build 
His temple right against the temple of God, 
On that opprobrious hill ; and made his grove 



310 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



something," says Mr. Bartlett, " in the scenery of this valley 
and the hill above, its tombs hewn in the rock, long since 
tenantless ; the gray gloom of its old fig and olive trees, 
starting from the fissures of the crags ; the overhanging wall 
of Zion, desolate almost as in the time of her captivity, that 
forcibly recalls the wild and mournful grandeur of the pro- 
phetic writings. Within it, too, is the traditionary ' Aceldama,' 
or Field of Blood, of the traitor Judas ; a small plot of 
ground, overhung with one precipice, and looking down ano- 
ther into the glen below, on which is a deep charnel-house, 
into which it was formerly the custom to throw the bodies of 
the dead, as the earth was supposed to have the power of rap- 
idly consuming them. This place was selected as the burial- 
place for pilgrims who died at Jerusalem in the middle ages. 
Such are the scenes that have passed in Hinnom ; it is like 
the scroll of the prophet, 1 written within and without with 
mourning, and lamentation, and woe.'" # 

At this time we will not dwell upon the more minute points 
in the prospect before us ; as a whole, this deep valley has an 
air of beauty unsurpassed by aught in the vicinity of Jeru- 
salem ; and the terraced sides of the mount, the gardens of 
olive, fig, and other trees, the verdant plots of grain and grass, 
the few features of life and activity in the rustic cultivators 
of the soil, and such like, give to it attractions of no ordinary 
kind ; but it requires more space than I can now devote to it, 
to do it justice. We must hasten on : passing by the Foun- 
tain of Nehemiah, or well of Job (Joab), which is probably 
identical with En-Rogel, we spent a little while in gazing 
upon the Pool of Siloam, where are " the waters of Shiloah 
that go softly."! It is picturesquely situate on the steep of 
Mount Zion, with the lofty hill rising up grandly above it, 

The pleasant valley of Hinnom, Tophet thence 
And black Gehenna call'd, the type of hell." 

" Paradise Lost," Bk. I. 

* " Walks about Jerusalem. ." p. 62. f Is. viii. 6, 



THE POOL OF SI LOAM. 



311 



to a great height, and is a favorite place of resort to the pil- 
grim who loves to meditate upon sacred things, and our Lord's 
love and mercy to body as well as soul. We here turn to 
the northward again. On our right, perched on the shelving 
cliffs which overhang the valley of Jehoshaphat, is the petty 
village of Selwan. or Siloam , with its scanty population, 
and its dwellings in the excavated rock, and some dis- 
tance up the valley, pursuing the dry bed of the Kedron, we 
come to the Fountain of the Virgin, which, it was ascertained 
by Dr. Robinson, is connected by means of a subterranean chan- 
nel cut in a serpentine course (1750 feet long), with the Pool of 
Siloam. This fountain is well worth examination, and deeply in- 
terests the visitor. who descends a flight of well-worn steps, cut 
through the rock, and very irregular, into a chamber, or cave in 
the rock, roughly hewn, and well (though not steadily.) sup- 
plied with water. Mr. "Williams informs us that there are 
twenty-six steps, making the depth about twenty-five feet, for 
the steps are deep. On the present occasion we may not go 
down into the fountain, for a number of girls and women are 
there, paddling in the cooling stream, and lingering to enjoy 
its luxuries before they rill their jars for the supply of their 
homes, in the village of Siloam. opposite. I regret this, be- 
cause it would be pleasant to drink some of that water, the 
taste of which, we are told. ;; is very peculiar, and never to be 
mistaken when once known. ... It is scarcely ' brackish ;' 
it is best described by an old writer, as • insipid but the 
villagers of Siloam drink thereof, and their flocks, and do not 
rind it unwholesome, but the contrary." Mounting' the hillside 
once more, by a rugged and toilsome path, we follow again 
the course of the wall on the side of the Haram : all around 
are the tombs and graves of the Mohammedan dead ; on our 
left is the long line of lofty wall, looking down from this side, 
into the great depth of which Josephus speaks, in giving an 
account of the temple edifice : and far away on the right is the 
picturesque scene to which I have before alluded, in our walk 



312 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



about the Mount of Olives and its neighborhood. We pass 
the Golden Gate, now closed, and cannot but admire the re- 
mains, even yet visible, of this noble city entrance. We see 
stuck out of the top of the wall, a part of a round stone pil- 
lar, on which, says the story, Mohammed is to sit when the 
nations are gathered together for judgment, in the valley of 
Jehoshaphat. We soon reach St. Stephen's gate, and after 
a while pass entirely round the north-easterly corner of the 
wall, arriving in due time at the Damascus gate, whence we 
set out. The whole circuit of the modern walls is 12,978 
feet, or nearly two miles and a half. I may also here state, 
that Suliman I., the son of Selim I., erected the walls nearly 
as they now are, A.H. 948 (=A.D. 1542). 

Allow me, in conclusion, to make one or two remarks of a 
general nature, in connection with points of some interest- 
A most obvious one, as it appears to me, is this, that from the 
marked features, in general, of the topography of the Holy 
City, there is less probability of error or mistake in respect to 
them than usually attaches to ancient places. Whatever differ- 
ences of opinion there may be in matters of detail, it is well 
nigh impossible to go wrong in regard to the prominent, essen- 
tial points; and I believe that no one can visit Jerusalem, and 
candidly and fairly use his Bible, without attaining a moral 
certainty, that this is Mount Zion, this Mount Moriab, this- the 
Tyropoeon, this the valley of Jehoshaphat, this the Mount of 
Olives, etc. ; for, though such men as Dr. Clarke may, not- 
withstanding the privilege of having seen Jerusalem, venture 
to say, that in their opinion, Mount Zion, as we see it now, 
was the Hill Acra, the valley of Hinnom was the Tyropoeon, 
and the Hill of Evil Counsel was the true Zion ; and though 
an author of the reputation, acuteness and good sense of Mr. 
Fergusson, may attempt to unsettle all the received views 
of the ablest scholars, travellers and divines, by placing Zion — 
a " mere monticule of rock" — north of, and near to Mount 
Moriah, by giving a new — I will not, though I might say, 



POPULATION OF THE ANCIENT CITY. 313 

impossible course to the ancient walls, and so on ; yet, I am 
persuaded, that had not Dr. Clarke been excessively fond of 
theorizing, and had he not written at so late a date, as prob- 
ably to have forgotten all that he learned during his few days' 
sojourn in Jerusalem ; and had Mr. Fergusson ever seen the 
Holy City with his own eyes, instead of through the imper- 
fect glasses of travellers, neither the one nor the other would 
have published to the world the results of his labors and re- 
searches. 

The statement made above, in regard to the extent of the 
modern city, suggests another remark. We found the Holy 
City to be two miles and a half in circuit, and the popu- 
lation is variously estimated from 12,000 up to 30,000. 
Anciently, no doubt, the area within the walls was very 
much greater, including a large part of the slope of Mount 
Zion, and the hill Ophel to the east between it and the Val- 
ley of Jehoshaphat ; the present city, too, is capable of con- 
taining a population considerably larger than it now has; 
but, even supposing the widest extent, and giving the num- 
ber of inhabitants the greatest possible, for the space within 
the walls, how shall we account for the immense numbers 
of which Josephus speaks, when he tells us that 1,100,000 
perished during the siege under Titus, and that at a pass- 
over some years previous there were assembled nearly 
3,000,000 of people? I profess to you, I do not very clearly 
see how we are to excuse the historian or his copyists from 
some strange error, since I can hardly imagine it possible, by 
any means whatever, to crowd so many hundreds of thousands 
into a city of the size of ancient Jerusalem. Mr. Fergusson 
roundly rejects the entire statement of Josephus, accuses 
him of wilful falsehood, and does not believe the city capable 
of holding over fifty to sixty thousand inhabitants, under any 
circumstances; Dr. Robinson thinks the estimate "doubtless 
greatly exaggerated ;" Mr. Bartlett, remarking that the cir- 
cumference of the Holy City never at best exceeded a space 

14 



314 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of about four miles, finds it difficult to believe that Jerusa- 
lem at any time contained more than 150,000 inhabitants, 
if indeed so many ; while Mr. Williams, for reasons which 
he assigns, is not prepared to reject the authority of Jose- 
phus, preferring to be counted credulous rather than to set 
aside, on his own motion, the testimony of an eye-witness. 
He supposes, too, and in this, I think, justly, that the awful 
punishment brought upon the guilty nation at that period, 
as related by the historian, was no more than what our 
Saviour's fearful words would lead us to expect ; and that 
war, pestilence, and famine, speedily swept off tens and 
hundreds of thousands. Perhaps, on the whole, it may be 
the wiser and more judicious to accord substantially with 
the view last expressed. 



LETTER XVI. 



(Ealbarg atilr t$e 2^olg Sepulchre. 

Avowal of Preference for the Opinions of Antiquity. — Bearing on the Questions Proposed.— 
Is the Holy Sepulchre rightly placed by Tradition, or not 1 — Description of the Present 
Church. — Where Situate.— The Court. — The Interior — Traditionary Localities.— Effect pro- 
duced on the Mind. — The Sepulchre. — Present Appearance. — Mount Calvary. — Tombs un- 
derneath.— Examination of the Question at Issue. — Scriptural Statement.— What is Certain. 
— Present Church is within the Walls, Calvary was without. — Difficulty in Consequence.— 
Topographical Argument. — Josephus's Statements. — Points to be determined. — Tower of 
Hippicus, where situate. — Position of the Gate Gennath. — Course of the Second Wall. — 
Akra and the Tyropoeon. — Result of the Examination. — Argument from History and Tra- 
dition. — Its Value. — Knowledge, Sentiments, Position, Character, etc., of the first Christians. 
— Reign of Hadrian. — What was done in Jerusalem.— Constantine and the Bishop of Jeru- 
salem. — Recovery of the Holy Sepulchre.— Invention of the Cross. — Basilica of Constan- 
tine.— Why should we not believe in the Verity of the Holy Sepulchre ? — Evil Characteris- 
tics of the present Age. — Claims of the early Christians upon our Sympathy and Candor. — 
Dr. Robinson's Strictures on Macarius and his Clergy censured.— Conclusion.— Passages 
quoted from Bartlett, Fergusson and Wilson. 

Jerusalem, April 14th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

" I have an unfashionable partiality for the opinions of 
antiquity," said the learned and acute Bishop Horsley, # on 
one occasion, when he had the courage to adopt the patristic 
interpretation of a certain prophecy instead of that of some 
modern scholars and divines. Vast as is the distance between 
so great a man as he was and myself, and deservedly of little 
account as may be any expression of opinion on my part, 
yet I trust that it may not be deemed presumptuous in me 
to avow a decided partiality of the same kind, even though 
it be more unfashionable than it was half a century ago to 
yield deference to the opinions and statements of early 

* " Biblical Criticism" vol. ii. p. 181. 



316 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Christian writers. I am very well aware that this frank 
avowal may lay me open to suspicion in certain quarters ; 
and it may be surmised, if not said, that because of such in- 
clinations on my part, I am not altogether a trustworthy 
witness ; that my vision has been warped ; and that my 
wishes have biassed me in a particular direction or perverted 
the evidence on disputed points, — all the time forgetting that 
remarks of this kind are as applicable in one direction as 
another. The detestable odium theologicum, which so con- 
stantly interferes with the calm, dispassionate, and candid 
discussion of what is the truth, may, I fear, influence more 
than one mind against the opinions which I shall venture to 
avow, and, to the best of my ability, to defend ; but, as you 
at least, my dear S., will credit me, I have too deep a love 
and reverence for truth to hesitate one moment about follow- 
ing it, wherever it may lead, and however contrary it may 
be to the fashionable theology of the age in which we live ; 
and I protest, very earnestly, against the gross injustice of 
being supposed capable of tampering with truth because my 
views of the meaning and import of certain portions of 
Holy Writ do not agree with those of others.* If I seem to 
you to speak strongly, believe me it is not without cause ; 
for, unhappity, in questions relating simply to topographical 
details, to the value of tradition in general, and to the verity 
or falsity of localities in the Holy Land, traditionally held to 
be sacred, it has, to some extent at least, become the fashion 
not merely to examine the evidence and to decide solely in 
accordance with it, but rather to inquire into the theological 
opinions of the witness, and according as they may be, either 
to throw doubt upon, or add force to, the value of his testi- 
mony. If a man have a love and reverence for the ancients, 
as notwithstanding all their faults and failings, his fathers in 
the Church, is he therefore to be held accountable for all that 

* Mr. Williams complains of the unfairness of such insinuations, in the Pref- 
ace to the second edition of his " Holy City," p. xiii. 



VALUE OF ANCIENT OPINIONS. 



317 



they said or thought, and is he to reject their testimony on 
points where they were as competent to judge as any one 
of us ? I trow not. If, on the other hand, a man is deeply 
and thoroughly imbued with feelings almost of contempt for 
the fathers as a whole, and with actual positive dislike of 
everything connected with monks and monkish tradition, is 
he on that account to be esteemed more capable, more 
honest, and more judicious than his neighbors? or shall we 
venture to' say that he, more than others, will seek to pervert 
the truth to suit his views of what ought to be, rather than 
what appears to be, the result of a fair and candid investiga- 
tion ? I repudiate each and every such sentiment as un- 
worthy the lovers of truth in its integrity and completeness ; 
and simply ask, that the honesty and sincerity of purpose 
which I freely and fully accord to others may not be denied 
to myself. If, moreover, I know my own heart at all, it is 
that truth should triumph, though every cherished opinion 
of my own should thereby be trampled in the dust. 

These remarks, my dear S., would be very much out of 
place, and would demand an apology on my part, did it not 
seem to me necessary, while here in the Holy Land, to tell 
you plainly what are my convictions in regard to certain 
localities, always, up to the last and present century, held to 
be sacred ; and to give you the reasons why I prefer " the 
opinions of antiquity" respecting these points, to those more 
or less prevalent in our day, and which have grown out of 
very modern scholarship and research. It will be my effort, 
as it certainly is my desire, to speak of all such matters in 
the most straightforward and candid manner, begging you to 
believe, that, whatever deficiency there may seem to you to 
be in the presentation of the questions, or the arguments 
adduced on either hand, that belongs to me, and is not to be 
charged upon the questions themselves. With this under- 
standing, I shall take occasion to set before you the reasons 
why I am satisfied of the genuineness and verity of the sites 



318 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



pointed out for Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre, notwith- 
standing the great learning and acuteness displayed by Dr. 
Robinson in endeavoring to show that they are not and can- 
not be the true sites of those important events in our Lord's 
life and ministry. On a subsequent occasion, too, I may be 
able to lay before you the reasons which induce me to believe 
in the correctness of the tradition respecting the place of our 
Lord's nativity at Bethlehem ; and, perchance, of some other 
traditionary sacred spots in the Holy Land. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as it is now termed, 
is situate not far from the north-west corner of the city, 
and, as might be expected, has gathered round itself most of 
the convents and the principal portion of the Christian resi- 
dences. Before entering upon the question in relation to its 
covering the very site of the sepulchre of our Lord, permit 
me to give a brief description of the present church, bearing 
in mind, that this is not the edifice spoken of in such glowing 
terms by Chateaubriand and earlier travellers, the former 
church having been, in great measure, destroyed by fire in 
October, 1808 ; and that it was rebuilt in a style quite in- 
ferior to that of its predecessor. # Passing down the street, 
marked on the large map of the Ordnance Survey, " St. Ste- 
phen's Street," we follow nearly the line supposed to be that 
where the second wall stood in the time of our Saviour, and 

* " The first edifices that were erected to do honor to this place, were those of 
Constantine, which were dedicated in the year 335. These were ruined in the 
Persian invasion of Chosroes, in 614, and restored by Modestus fifteen years 
afterwards. Jerusalem was taken by the Mohammedans in 637; but the sa- 
cred buildings in question were not injured by them at that time. In 1010 : they 
were, however, utterly and purposely destroyed by order of the Khalif Hakem. 
Thirty years afterwards, permission was obtained by the Emperor Constantine 
Monomachus, to rebuild them, which was effected under the Patriarch Nice- 
phorus, about fifty years before the entry of the Crusaders. They, during their 
reign in Jerusalem, greatly increased the buildings ; and, after their expulsion, 
no important changes took place until the unhappy fire, which, in 1808, so 
greatly damaged the church, as to necessitate the entire reconstruction of its 
central portions."— Prof. Willis's " Architectural History of the Holy Sepulchre," 
in Williams's " Holy City," vol. ii. p. 135. 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 319 

in a few minutes, come to " Palmer Street." We make our 
way through the crooks and tarns, and over the frequent 
irregularities, for a short distance, till we reach the open 
paved court in front of the entrance to the church. The 
scene here presented is unique : the court is filled with the 
venders of beads, crosses, crucifixes, mother-of-pearl shells, 
etc. ; with numbers of pilgrims from remote districts, gazing 
at everything with the deepest wonder and most profound 
credulity ; with some lounging soldiers and Turkish guards ; 
and with here and there a Frank or two looking on with 
emotions of surprise, unbelief, and contempt.* On either 
hand are the walls of the Greek conventual buildings, bear- 
ing still the traces of Byzantine architecture in the portions 
of columns built in and half covered by the walls ; directly 
before us is a part of the southern wall of the church, which, 
though evidently, even to our unscientific eyes, of a mixed 
and corrupt style of architecture, still wears a venerable and 
not unmajestic look : near by, too, on the left, you notice a 
portion of the ancient campanile or bell tower, which has 
been suffered to fall gradually, and in great measure, into 
ruin and disuse. The entrance is through the large, stout 
folding doors, which are kept closed a great part of the time. 
There is a hole, as you see, in one of them, by which offer- 
ings are handed in, and bribes given to the guards just inside 
the church. Tommaso makes a great fuss and noise, and 
parades forth our dignity and importance, and after a short 
time, principally by the aid of some half-dozen piastres, gets 
the door opened for our admission. The crowd of poor pil- 
grims, who are striving to get in at the same time, are rudely 

* The Hon. Mr. Curzon gives a graphic account of the deplorable and dread- 
ful scenes which he witnessed in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, in May. 
1834, when Ibrahim Pasha was present, when the foul imposture of the holy 
fire was played off as usual, when several hundred (probably about five 
hundred) persons were trampled under foot, suffocated, run through by the sol- 
diers, &c, and when the court in front of the church was filled with dead 
bodies !— " Monasteries in the Levant" p. 182-197. 



320 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



thrust back by the muskets of Turkish soldiers : — think of 
it, the foul indignity, Mohammedan guards in a Christian 
church ! Turkish soldiers quartered in the consecrated edi- 
fice, to keep the peace between the followers and worshippers 
of the Prince of Peace ! Do you not feel a thrill of indigna- 
tion that such things should be ? Ah, and does not the blush 
of shame tinge our cheek, when we see and know that too 
often these infidel guards are necessary to put a stop to out- 
rage and murder in the church covering the site of our Lord's 
crucifixion and resurrection ? 

After entering the vestibule, the first object pointed out to 
us is a large marble slab, with massive candlesticks and sus- 
pended lamps surrounding it. Tommaso tells us, but not 
quite with his usual air of confidence, that it is the stone of 
unction on which our Lord's body was laid after His cruci- 
fixion, and when it was being prepared for the sepulchre. 
It is somewhat painful to see the extravagance of devotion 
of the kneeling and prostrate pilgrims over this palpable im- 
posture, though it need not be at all surprising to one who 
recollects with what entire and perfect submission they re- 
ceive every ecclesiastical and monkish tradition which is told 
them. Perhaps, too, it may please God to bless the ignorant 
worshipper who here pours out his tears and sighs of contri- 
tion, more highly than falls to the lot of some of us who think 
that we know too much to be imposed upon by superstition 
and folly, and who are always more ready to doubt than to 
believe. Of course, if we follow our guide and the monks 
whom he summons to his aid, we shall see all the marvellous 
sacred spots included within the walls of this irregularly 
shaped church ; as, the place of the nailing to the cross ; the 
pillar of flagellation (or rather the piece of it, as Tommaso 
whispers to us) ; the place where the soldiers divided the 
vestments ; the prison in which the Saviour was detained 
previous to the nailing to the cross ; the spot where the friends 
of our Lord stood during the crucifixion ; the place where He 



MLAM CDS' THEl 



OF 

THE HOLY S - 

The Holy |J| 

1. Entrance to the Church. 

2. The Stone of Unction. 

3. Where our Saviour was na 

4. Mount Calvary t + + 

5. Chapel of the Sacrifice of 

6. Chapel of the Altar of Me 

7. Stairs up to Mount Calvai 

8. Stairs down to the Chapel 

9. Stairs down to the Chapel o 

10. Place where the three Cro^ 

11. Chapel of the Division of 

12. Prison of our Lord. 

lb. Greek Choir, in it ©, tt 
each side are the Stalls f< 




THE DOME OYER THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 



321 



appeared to Mary Magdalene ; also, where He appeared to 
the Virgin Mary : the place where the crosses were discov- 
ered by Helena; the exact spot marking the centre of the 
world ; etc. etc. : but as these are manifestly without founda- 
tion, save in that desire — here, I fear, not disinterested — of 
fixing every event and circumstance to a local habitation, we 
can well dispense with putting on record what will excite, 
in some, sneers of contempt, and in all, stir up feelings of 
sorrow mingled with indignation. Let us look with some 
care at the few things here of real importance to us and to 
all who love to look upon the sites of memorable portions of 
our Blessed Redeemer's mission on earth, 

Turning to the left, we pass the vestibule, and find our- 
selves under the large central dome of the church, and close 
to the smaller edifice, which is believed to cover the Holy 
Sepulchre itself. This rotunda, or large dome, is about sev- 
enty feet in diameter, and nearly the same in height; and 
the surrounding walls are divided, as you see. in the usual 
manner, into three stories, ground-floor, triforium, and clere- 
story : there are eighteen piers, some of which are round pil- 
lars with capitals, bases, and pedestals, and the others simple 
square piers : the large and lofty piers towards the east, or 
right hand, sustain a wide arch that rises into the triforium 
of the church, and now serves as an arch of passage between 
the rotunda and the choir, which is in possession of the Greeks. 
As we walk slowly round this part of the church, you per- 
ceive, in the intervals between the piers, chapels of very con- 
siderable depth, each intended to commemorate some one of 
the mysteries of our Lord's passion, and all having in them 
some highly valued relics or supposed testimonies of Christian 
verity. Let us glance a moment at the edifice, or house of 
stone, standing here over the spot where the Holy Sepulchre 
is thought to have been. Lamartine describes it as " an 
oblong square, adorned with pilasters, a cornice, and cupola, 
all of marble; the whole of a labored and eccentric desist. 

14* 



322 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and executed in bad taste." The former, or original edifice, 
was in the Gothic style, and, so far as one can judge, must 
have been much more impressive than the present building. 
We mount a few low steps to the marble platform before the 
entrance ; and, unattended, we enter a small, dimly-lighted 
room, which serves as an ante-chapel to the sepulchre itself. 
Here is shown the stone on which the angels sat who an- 
nounced to the women the wondrous news of the resurrection 
of that Lord and Saviour whose body they had come to anoint 
with sweet spices. A few steps further, stooping somewhat, 
and passing through a low narrow portal, and we are alone 
in the inner sanctuary, where thousands and tens of thou- 
sands have knelt, and wept, and prostrated themselves, in full 
faith that this is the very site of our Master's burial-place. 
Lamps of gold and silver, ever burning, afford light to the 
narrow chapel where we are, and the air is kept redolent 
with perfumes night and day. We see not the sepulchre as 
it was originally, for then it was hewn out of a rock, and the 
Apostles, when they came to see, on the report of Mary Mag- 
dalene that the body was taken away, stooped down and 
looked into the low door of entrance before they went in. 
Now, however, the spot which is shown us as that of the holy 
resting-place, is a sort of sarcophagus of white marble, which 
surrounds and conceals from the eye everything in relation to 
the tomb, and is about two feet above the level of the floor ; 
thus depriving this sacred spot of the evidence which properly 
belongs to it, and throwing an air of doubt and suspicion over 
the whole subject. How often do we find occasion, in visit- 
ing sacred localities, to deplore the steps taken by the piety 
and zeal of other ages, when it was sought to dignify holy 
spots by heaping upon them ornaments and decorations ut- 
terly out of place, and in the worst possible taste ! How 
truly do we join in the poet's touching plaint : 

" Oh ! for that garden in its simpler guise, 
Where she the earliest of His mourners came, — 



MUSINGS OVER THE SEPULCHRE. 



323 



Came ere the stars of Syria's cloudless skies 
Grew pale before their morning burst of flame. 

Oh ! if the lichen now were free to twine 

O'er the dark entrance of that rock-hewn cell, 

Say, should we miss the gold-encrusted shrine 

Or incense fumes' intoxicating spell 1 

Would not the whispering breeze, as evening fell, 

Make deeper music in the palm-trees' shade 

Than choral prayer or chanted ritual's swell! 

Can the proud shafts of Helena's colonnade 

Match thy time-hallowed stems, Gethsemane's holy glade ?"* 

How easy is it here, too, to object and disbelieve, when the 
architects of Constantine, and later nursing fathers of the 
Church, saw fit to level down the rock in which the tomb 
was, and thus to make it as unlike the original as was in 
their power ! What wonder is it that the mind of man, re- 
volting at imposture and deception in so many instances un. 
der the roof of this very edifice, termed the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre, should indignantly cast away everything 
relating to it as unworthy his attention, and fit only for the 
ignorant and credulous pilgrim ! 

In deep and solemn silence let us muse awhile in this holy 
place ; and witn hearts full of faith in that gracious Lord 
who triumphed over death, and by his glorious resurrection 
opened unto us the gates of everlasting life, let us pour out 
our devout prayers and supplications for the enlightening, 
strengthening, and purifying graces of the Holy Ghost, the 
Comforter. Lord, I believe ; help Thou mine unbelief. God 
be merciful to me a sinner. Thou art our Redeemer ; Thou 
art our all : make no long tarrying, O my God ! O death ? 
where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks 
be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Shall our hearts be untouched, and cold, and 
hard, in such a place as this? Shall we not hope and believe 

* Lord Ellesmere's " Pilgrimage,'' quoted by Mr. Williams, " Holy City," vol. 
ii. p. 75. 



324 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



that God will answer the prayers of us, penitent sinners, 
who cry unto Him for pardon and grace, kneeling, as we do, 
near the very tomb in which His body lay, and from which 
He rose on the third day ? And shall we not, as we leave 
this deeply interesting spot, resolve, in the fear of God, to 
strive ever hereafter to lay aside everything which hinders our 
onward and upward progress toward heaven, where our Master 
ever liveth and reigneth in power and great glory, world 
without end ? 

Mount Calvary is about a hundred and twenty feet distant, 
as nearly as I could measure it, from the site of the sepul- 
chre, in a south-easterly direction, and is reached by a flight 
of eighteen steps cut in the rock : the elevation is about 
twenty feet above the floor of the church. We here find 
the same excess of decoration, and the addition of things 
which mar sadly the very spots intended to be honored and 
adorned. The old monk points out to us the place where, he 
says, the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, over which is 
an altar : near by he shows us the hole made in the rock in 
which the cross was set up ; and a little behind, on either 
hand, the holes dug for the crosses of the two malefactors : 
the altar here erected is adorned profusely and gaudily. We 
are also shown, at a few feet distance from the place where 
the cross stood, a cleft or fissure in the rock, reported to have 
been made by the earthquake at the time when our Lord 
yielded up the ghost, and the earth did quake, and the rocks 
were rent, and the graves were opened. Some writers, like 
Mr. Bartlett, stigmatize this, and indeed everything about this 
locality, as " contrivances which tend to produce disgust ;" 
I see no improbability, however, in the thing itself, but rather 
considerable reason to credit the received tradition ; and I 
prefer to adopt the language and sentiments of the sagacious 
and acute Maundrell on this point ; he says : " This cleft, as 
to what now appears of it, is about a span wide at its upper 
part, and two deep, after which it closes : but it opens again 



MOUNT CALVARY. 



325 



below, as you may see in another chapel contiguous to the 
side of Calvary, and runs down to an unknown depth in the 
earth. That this rent was made by the earthquake that hap- 
pened at our Lord's passion, there is only tradition to prove ; 
but that it is a natural and genuine breach, and not counter- 
feited by any art, the sense and reason of every one that sees 
it may convince him : for the sides of it fit like two tallies to 
each other, and yet it runs in such intricate windings as could 
not well be counterfeited by art, nor arrived at by any in- 
struments." # 

As we gaze upon these mementoes of the past, and feeling 
how little, after all, we realize the momentous importance of 
the awful events and circumstances connected with our Lord's 
cross and passion, may we not take upon our lips the self-ac- 
cusing words which the poet puts into the mouth of the Cru- 
saders when they beheld Jerusalem ? 

" Here, Lord, where currents from thy wounded side 
Stain'd the besprinkled ground with sanguine red, 
Should not these two quick springs at least, their tide 
In bitter memory of Thy passion shed ! 
And melt'st thou not, my icy heart, where bled 
Thy dear Redeemer 1 still must pity sleep 1 
My flinty bosom, why so cold and dead % 
Break, and with tears the hallow'd region steep ! 

If that thou weep'st not now, forever shouldst thou weep !"f 

Descending again into the church, we enter a chapel un- 
derneath the hill of Calvary : here are pointed out to us the 
tombs of the noble Godfrey de Bouillon and his brother Bald- 
win ; the inscriptions on their tombs are not very legible, but 
you may think them worth copying. 

hlc jacet inclytus dux godefridus de 
bulion, qui totam istam terram ac- 
qutsivit cultui christiano, cujus anima 
Regnet cum Christo. Amen. 



* Maundrell's " Journey" &c, March 26th. 
f Tasso's t: Jerusalem Delivered" Cant. iii. 8. 



326 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Rex Balduinus, Judas alter Machabeus, 

spes patri.e, vigor ecclesi.33, virtus utriusque. 

q.uem formidabant, chi dona tributa ferebant 

C^DAR ET jEGYPTUS, DaN AC HOMICIDA DAMASCUS. 
PROH DOLOR ! IN MODICO CLAUDITUR HOC TUMULO. 

The limits of the present letter do not admit of dwelling 
upon these things ; neither will it now be practicable to visit 
and speak in detail of several other parts of the church not 
devoid of interest and importance.* I must leave all these 
for the present, and beg your attention to the topic proposed 
at the commencement of this letter. I trust that a calm and 
dispassionate examination of the question at issue will prove 
this much, at least, that it is not without reason that I pre- 
sume to believe in the verity of Calvary and the Holy Sep- 
ulchre. 

If we examine the accounts contained in the Gospels of 
the last events connected with our Lord's death and resurrec- 
tion, we find certain facts recorded. Jesus, after the mock- 
ery of a trial, was condemned, scourged, insulted, crowned 
with thorns, and taken by the soldiery to be led to the place 
of crucifixion. This was about eight o'clock on the morning 
of Friday : as He passed through the streets of the city, 
He was followed by large numbers of weeping and mourning 
disciples, and sympathizing friends : fainting under His cross, 

* " The church of the Holy Sepulchre, composed of several churches, erected 
upon an unequal surface, illumined by a multitude of lamps, is singularly mys- 
terious ; a sombre light pervades it, favorable to piety and profound devotion. 
Christian priests, of various sects, inhabit different parts of the edifice. From the 
arches above, where they nestle like pigeons, from the chapels below, and sub- 
terraneous vaults, their songs are heard at all hours both of the day and night. 
The organ of the Latin monks, the cymbals of the Abyssinian priest, the voice 
of the Greek caloyer, the prayer of the solitary Armenian, the plaintive accents 
of the Coptic friar, alternately, or all at once, assail your ear; you know not 
whence these concerts proceed; you inhale the perfume of incense, without 
perceiving the hand that burns it ; you merely perceive the pontiff, who is going 
to celebrate the most awful of mysteries on the very spot where they were ac- 
complished, pass quickly by, glide behind the columns, and vanish in the gloom 
of the temple." — Chateaubriand's " Travels in Greece. Palestine" &c, p. 290. , 



our lord's crucifixion. 



327 



which they had cruelly forced Him to bear on His shoulder, 
he was relieved from carrying it by Simon of Cyrene, who 
chanced to be passing by, and was compelled to take it ; ere 
long they came to the wall, on the western side of the city ; 
they emerged through the gate, and shortly after came to the 
hilly spot or eminence, apparently used for executions,^ and 
named Calvary or Golgotha ; the Saviour was nailed to the 
cross, which was here set up, and on either hand the two 
malefactors were placed : this was the third hour, answering 
to our nine o'clock, or thereabouts ; during the following three 
hours, the Saviour endured the agony of the cross, and the 
horrid mockings and insults of the infuriate Jews, and was 
looked upon by multitudes, as well from the walls of the city 
near by, as from the vicinity of the cross ; from noon until 
three o'clock, the whole land was enveloped in darkness and 
terrifying gloom ; about the ninth hour our Redeemer, having 
performed the last acts of His sacrificial passion, yielded up 
the ghost and expired ; various significant wonders and mi- 
raculous signs occurred, the veil of the temple was rent in 
two, the earth trembled, the tombs of holy men were opened, 
&c. ; the multitude, not long after, in deep sorrow and appre- 
hension, returned into the city and went their way ; a guard 
was left around the cross ; Joseph of Arimathea went to Pi- 
late to beg the Lord's body, when a soldier was sent to see 
if He were really dead ; the body was delivered to Joseph ; 
this, judging from the events related, must have been nearly 
or about five in the afternoon ; Joseph, assisted by Nicode- 
mus, wrapped the body in linen with spices, intending after- 

* Tischendorff expresses himself as decidedly opposed to the opinion which 
holds the Place of Skulls, as the ordinary place of execution. He contends 
that the word Golgotha does not indicate a place where skulls fall or lie, but is 
derived from the form of the rocky hill, i. e.. from its resemblance to a skull. I 
confess to you, that I should be glad to believe him correct in this view; for it 
has always struck me as a difficulty not easily explained, that the wealthy Jo- 
seph should have a garden in immediate proximity to the ordinary place of ex- 
ecution. The majority of scholars and divines, however, take the opposite 
view. 



328 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



wards, probably, to embalm it properly ; Joseph owned a gar- 
den near to Calvary, and in it was a new tomb, hewn out of 
the rock ; into this, because of the lateness of the hour, they 
laid the sacred body, and placing a great stone against the 
portal of the sepulchre, they, and the pious women who had 
been looking on, went to their homes, and rested, according to 
the commandment, on the Sabbath-day, which began at six 
o'clock, now near at hand. Very early on Sunday morning, 
the third day, the women set out with the spices and oint- 
ments, intending to go and anoint the body of Jesus ; when 
they reached the sepulchre, about sunrise, they found the 
stone rolled away, the guards fled in terror into the city, the 
angels, who told them that the Lord was risen ; and they re- 
turned in wonder and profound astonishment into the city, 
and told the disciples ; Peter and John ran to see the true 
state of the case, and discovered that the body was indeed 
gone, and the sepulchre empty, and they too returned into the 
city ; Jesus Himself appeared to them the same day, and thus 
verified the reality of His glorious resurrection. 

Thus much is certain, then, that Jesus, " bearing His cross, 
ivent forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is 
called, in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him ;" a 
title, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, was put on the cross ; it 
was read by many of the Jews, because Calvary, the place 
where Jesus was crucified, xoas nigh to the city ; and further, 
it is certain, that "in the place where He was crucified, there 
was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein 
was man never yet laid. There laid they Jesus, because of 
the Jews' preparation-day, for the sepulchre was nigh at 
liandP* 

Now, we are here met, at once, with a very serious diffi- 
culty. Both Calvary and the sepulchre were undoubtedly 
outside of the city walls, though at no great distance ; but 
the church of the Holy Sepulchre is inside the city, and sur- 

* John xix. 17, 18, 20, 41, 42. 



THE QUESTION STATED. 



*329 



rounded by dwellings and buildings to a considerable extent. 
It is plain, then, that if the present be coincident with the an- 
cient wall, this could not be the site of the crucifixion, and 
the place of entombment ; and on the settlement of this point 
depends, virtually, the whole question. If it be true, that 
this locality was anciently within the city wall, then of course 
not a word more can be said in its defence ; but if it can be shown 
that it was outside the wall, in the time of our Saviour, then 
even the most strenuous opponents of its genuineness are willing 
to yield without further discussion. Dr. Robinson's efforts 
are directed with great force to the proving, that the ancient 
wall so ran as to include the traditionary site of the Holy 
Sepulchre ; Mr. Williams's labors are specially devoted to a 
defence of the present site, and an elaborate and luminous 
display of the arguments of a topographical character, which, 
in his opinion, clearly settle the matter in favor of the an- 
cient tradition on this subject. Mr. Fergasson agrees with 
neither of these learned writers, and advocates a theory pe- 
culiar to himself, a theory which, despite his learning, acute- 
ness, and capacity for argumentation, is so really extravagant, 
so completely unsettles all the received and certain views of au- 
thors and travellers, in regard to the topography of Jerusalem, 
and has so small foundation in fact, that it can never obtain 
general approbation, but rather the reverse. As you perceive, 
then, it becomes necessary to examine the topographical ar- 
gument first of all; we will, subsequently, consider the value 
to be attached to the tradition, which has been handed down 
to us from the first ages, in respect to the places of our Sa- 
viour's death and burial. 

Josephus gives a description of the walls of Jerusalem, 
stating that there were three which protected the city in those 
parts, where the deep valleys rendered this precaution un- 
necessary. The first wall commenced at the Tower of Hip- 
picus, ran along the northerly brow of Mount Zion, to the 
Xystus, and ended at the west cloister, or portico of the tern- 



330 * EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

pie. The second wall began at the gate Gennath, which be- 
longed to the first wall ; encompassed, or. circled round the 
northern quarter of the city, and reached as far as the castle 
of Antonia, on the north part of the temple-area. The third 
wall, that of Agrippa, taking its beginning at the tower of 
Hippicus, included the large suburb on the north, which had 
in process of time become inhabited.* The second wall is 
the one in which we are now principally interested ; and the 
points needful to be determined are these : the position of the 
tower of Hippicus ; the place where the gate Gennath was ; 
the line of the second wall ; the situation of Akra ; and the 
course of the valley of the Tyropoeon. 

Dr. Robinson assumes that the Tower of David, at the 
north-east angle of the present citadel, corresponded with the 
Hippie Tower, and he gives his reasons at length. Mr. Wil- 
liams controverts this view, and adduces his arguments to 
show that it was at the north-west, instead of the north-east 
angle. As it is not material to the question under considera- 
tion, I shall not detain you with an abstract of the learned 
authors' arguments in favor of their respective views. It is 
of more importance to determine where .the gate Gennath 
was situate. If we adopt Dr. Robinson's opinion, that this 
gate was near, or close to the tower of Hippicus, you per- 
ceive that it renders it somewhat improbable, that the second 
wall excluded the church of the Holy Sepulchre. If, on the 
other hand, we agree with Mr. Williams, that this gate was 
at some distance to the east of the tower, it becomes far more 
easy to believe, that the wall ran in such direction as to leave 
outside, but yet near at hand, the site claimed to be that of 
Calvary and the tomb of our Lord. Dr. R. says in one 
place, that the gate was " apparently near Hippicus ;" in 
another he uses stronger language, and affirms, that " this 
gate of Gennath in the first wall, doubtless was near the 
tower of Hippicus ;" and moreover, that " it could not have 

* Joseph. £: Bell. Judy lib. v. c. 4. 



COURSE OP THE SECOND WALL. 



331 



been far distant, because that part of Zion was then high and 
steep." Mr. W. devotes a number of pages to the consider- 
ation of Dr. R.'s statements, and by a skilful induction of 
circumstances, shows clearly, to my mind, that the learned 
professor is in error, in assuming the close proximity of the 
gate to the Hippie Tower ; but even " admitting the gate 
Gennath to have been absolutely close to Hippicus, which," 
as Mr. Bartlett confesses, " is far from probable," still it is 
not of very special moment ; for, as the same writer candidly 
acknowledges, notwithstanding he agrees with Dr. Robinson 
in disbelieving in the genuineness of the Holy Sepulchre, 
" the utmost sweep that the second wall could even then have 
made, embraces a very limited space, little more than the 
other ; and unacquainted as we are with the motive which 
may have decided the builders on a particular course, it is, 
perhaps, too much to say, that the wall never could have ex- 
cluded the present sepulchre, and that on this ground alone, 
its site is mistaken."* According to Dr. R., then, " the second 
wall ran first from near Hippicus northwards, across the 
higher and more level part of Akra ; and then sweeping round 
to the valley between Akra and Bezetha, somewhere in the 
vicinity of the present Damascus gate, either followed," &o. 
Again he says, that unless it took this direction, the large 
pool, called by him, the pool of Hezekiah, must have been 
excluded. Let us examine these statements a little more 
closely. As respects the pool, termed by Dr. R., the pool of 
Hezekiah, there is no sort of authority for attributing it to 
that monarch ; all that can be urged in its favor, is a recent 
tradition drawn from an Italian monk, in the seventeenth 
century, and confessedly of little or no value ; and as the 
Christians and Mohammedans, even now, only know it 
by the name of the Pool of the Holy Sepulchre, or the 
Pool of the Bath, and as the earlier writers and travel- 
lers held no such view, or had ever heard of this opinion, 

* " Walks about Jerusalem," p. 91, 92. 



332 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



we may, I think, not improperly, dismiss it without further 
notice. 

Dr. R. supposes the Tyropoeon to have extended along the 
street which leads down directly east from the Jaffa gate till 
it joins the deeper wady, which runs in a southern direction 
quite to the Pool of Siloam and the Valley of Jehoshaphat. He 
also supposes Akra to have been north of Zion, and separated 
from it by the Valley of the Cheesemakers just spoken of. Both 
these hypotheses are ably met, and, in my judgment, refuted 
by Mr. "Williams. Tischendorff, too, advocates the same view 
with so much force and precision, that I beg to quote his 
words, which are the more worthy of notice because he was 
at first a believer in Dr. R.'s theory on the subject of the 
topography of Jerusalem, but afterwards gave it up entirely 
as untenable, on examining the results of Dr. Schultz's and 
Mr. Williams's labors: — it is an " erroneous opinion," he says, 
" to assume that Akra, or the Lower City, lay adjacent, 
northerly, to Mount Zion. This supposition of Robinson, and 
of many others, could only be rendered possible by not taking 
the text of the description of Josephus literally, and by not 
sufficiently elucidating it to themselves by its comparison with 
the existing localities. Akra could not lie to the north of 
Mount Zion, as Robinson asserts; because, in the first place, 
Josephus says, since the filling up of an intervening valley 
under the Asmonaeans, it formed one whole with Moriah, the 
Mount of the Temple ; but to the present day, Robinson's 
Akra is distinctly separated, and must ever have been so, 
from the Mount of the Temple, by the Valley of the Cheese- 
makers : secondly, because Josephus states that Akra was 
separated from Zion, or the Upper City, by the Valley of the 
Cheesemakers ; but the Valley of the Cheesemakers runs, as 
is distinctly perceptible, from north to south, and has abso- 
lutely no arm which from the west, in justification of the ex- 
pression of Josephus, separated Akra from Zion : thirdly, 
because Josephus says that both the Upper City and Lower 



ARGUMENT FROM TRADITION. 



333 



City fell externally into deep valleys ; now, this would be 
positively incorrect with respect to the Lower City, had that 
lain where Robinson assumes."* We may conclude, then, 
1. That the Tower of Hippicus occupied the site of the north- 
west (or perhaps the north-east) tower of the modern citadel ; 2. 
That the place of the Gennath was some distance to the east of 
that tower, near, probably, the south extremity of the present 
bazaars ; 3. That the second wall ran hence in a northerly direc- 
tion, excluding the Holy Sepulchre, and, bending to the west, 
curved round by the Damascus Gate, and so on to the Tower 
of Antonia ; 4. That Akra is the hill to the north-west of the 
Temple Mount : 5. That the Tyropoeon is the Mill Valley, 
extending from the Damascus Gate to the Pool of Siloam.t 

If you have had the patience to follow me through this dry, 
but necessary abstract of the topographical argument relative 
to the site of the Holy Sepulchre, you will, I trust, agree 
with me in opinion that there is no need to abandon this lo- 
cality, so far as appears from anything yet urged against it ; 
that the probabilities rather favor than otherwise, the view 
that this spot was outside the city wall in the time of our 
Saviour ; and that, as Mr. Bartlett acknowledges, " on topo- 
graphical grounds we can see no sufficient objection to oppose 
to its" genuineness, and the credibility of the ancient tradition 
in its support. 

We now come to the strong and convincing argument de- 
rived from history and very early and uniform tradition. 
This is the more necessary to examine, and the more impor- 
tant in its bearing, because, as you will perceive, even though 
the church of the Holy Sepulchre may be so situate as not 
to have been included within the second wall, still, after all, 
it might not be the true site of the crucifixion and entomb- 
ment ; and it is possible that Dr. Robinson might be wrong 
on topographical grounds, and still this locality also not be 

* '• Travels in the East," p. 148. 

f Williams's " Holy City" vol. ii. p. 64, 



334 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



entitled to our notice for the reasons which we believe it is: 
yes, it is possible that the wall might have so run as to ex- 
clude the Holy Sepulchre, and yet Mr. Fergusson's bold the- 
ory be true, that tradition has wrongly fixed it where it is, 
notwithstanding the clear tradition of the first three centu- 
ries, and the building of the church by Constantine to mark 
it ever after, he alone having been reserved to the glory of 
identifying it with a spot on Mount Moriah under the edifice 
now known as the Mosk of Omar. I say that these things 
are quite possible, and I allude to them in order to call your 
attention the more completely to the value of the argument 
from tradition in favor of the Holy Sepulchre, since on this 
argument must depend, in reality, the settlement of the 
whole question. Let me then state to you just what has 
been handed down to us with respect to the Holy Sepulchre, 
and you will readily understand that it approaches as near 
to a demonstration as the nature of the case will admit. 

No candid man can doubt for a moment that the first 
Christians were accurately acquainted with the place of the 
. crucifixion and burial of our Lord. The Apostles certainly 
knew the spot well ; the large number of converts, including 
very many among the Jewish priests, must also have known 
where Calvary was ; the bishops, beginning with James, our 
Lord's brother (A.D. 35), and the clergy must have been 
well informed on these points ; and it is contrary to every 
principle of human nature to suppose, that they either did or 
could forget or lose sight of places consecrated in their eyes by 
the agony and passion, the death and resurrection, of the 
divine Saviour. Less than forty years after Christ's death, 
the Holy City was invested, taken, and destroyed by the 
Romans, though there is no reason to suppose that the unim- 
portant localities of Calvary and the tomb in the rock 
received material injury ; most of the disciples had fled pre- 
viously, and taken refuge in Pella, beyond the Jordan ; but 
after the mournful overthrow of Jerusalem, they returned to 



PROBABILITIES OF THE CASE. 



335 



dwell amid its ruins. Surely, within a year or two, or less, 
they could not have forgotten Calvary and the Lord's tomb, 
especially when they saw His words so fearfully verified in the 
downfall of the guilty nation ; and as they assembled once 
more to worship God, glorifying His holy Name for all the 
wonderful works which He had done, is it at all probable that 
they would not look with special interest upon the site of His 
death, whose blood the maddened people had invoked upon 
themselves, to their utter ruin ? At no time was the Church 
in Jerusalem without its bishop and clergy, the teachers of 
truth. Will it be believed that they did not know, and if 
they knew, -that they did not point out, the sacred localities 
to the people, as inciting them to renewed diligence in follow- 
ing in the footsteps of the Lord who purchased them with His 
blood ? Will it be believed that, called upon, as they were, 
to endure persecution and martyrdom for the name of Christ, 
and accustomed, as we know they were, to look with rever- 
ence upon places dear in their eyes, on account of the death 
of some holy man, they would not regard at all, and would 
even lose the knowledge of so sacred a place as that where the « 
Redeemer of the world died and was buried ? To my mind, 
the thing seems impossible. 

Passing down the stream of time, we come to the reign of 
Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), who was so -exasperated against 
Judea and its people, in consequence of the tremendous and 
bloody outbreak of the infatuated Jews, under Bar Cochebas 
(Son of a Star), that he set no bounds to the rigor of the 
punishment imposed. They were forbidden to visit or even 
come near the Holy City ; thousands and tens of thousands 
were sold into slavery ; Jerusalem was desecrated by pagan 
temples, and the impure rites of heathenism ; and to complete 
its misery, it was named after the conqueror, Mlia CapitolU 
na. With characteristic arrogance, the emperor took no pains 
to discriminate between the Jew and the Christian in Jerusa- 
lem ; he trampled upon the former, by erecting a temple to 



336 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the Capitoline Jove, on the holy mount where the Lord's 
house once stood, and the latter he permitted, if he did not 
direct, to he insulted and rendered contemptible, striving to 
blot out the memory of Calvary and the tomb of Christ, by 
placing over them the idol fanes of Venus and Jupiter*— a 
singularly unwise and unsuccessful effort ; for not only were 
these localities well known to the Christians in Jerusalem, as 
is evidenced by this act on the part of the Roman tyrants, but 
so gross and outrageous profanation of sites revered by them 
on account of what had there transpired, naturally and neces- 
sarily served to deepen and perpetuate the memorial of the 
place where the Lord poured out His blood, and where He tri- 
umphed over death and the grave. It cannot, therefore, be 
doubted, that the very means taken by the persecutors and 
enemies of the cross to trample under foot the faith of Christ, 
tended materially to preserve the recollection of places such as 
these; and though Hadrian appears to have relented some- 
what, and to have forbidden the prosecution of Christians in 
Palestine, without just cause, it does not appear that any 
# change was made in respect to the shrines of Jupiter and Venus, 
or that Calvary and the tomb were ever relieved from the 
odious connection with heathen folly and impurity ; nay, 
rather, it seems not improbable that the peculiar species of 
insult which forced those who came to pray near the place 
of crucifixion to be apparently devotees of idols, afforded great 
gratification to the dominant party : may we not well believe, 
that under such circumstances, our elder brethren in the faith 
never could forget what those fanes were meant to lord it 
over and to destroy utterly ? 

It is not necessary for our present purpose to enlarge upon 
the trials and persecutions of the Christians under succeeding 

* Mr. Milman, in his " History of Christianity" (p. 308), thinks it improbable 
that the emperor wished to insult the Christians by this step ; as it is a matter 
of opinion, merely, on his part, it needs little consideration in this place ; 
I prefer to follow the generally received historical statement. 



constantine's measures. 



337 



emperors. The city of iElia appears to have continued 
much the same as under the emperor from whom it took its 
name, and men in general seem to have forgotten almost en- 
tirely its former designation. Church history has preserved 
many interesting matters in connection with the bishops and 
the Christian body in iElia or New Jerusalem : for the most 
part they appear to have lived in peace and freedom from 
severe persecution, and to have been occupied in contending 
for the faith against heresy within, and pagan assaults with- 
out ; but during the reign of the dark and gloomy Diocletian, 
they, too, were called upon to endure the fiery trial of their 
faith in Christ : this was in the beginning of the fourth cent- 
ury. We pass over the details, and turn our attention to 
what was done when Constantine the Great became sole 
emperor and ruler of the civilized world. Among the earli- 
est steps which he took in favor of Christianity, were those 
in relation to the holy sites in Jerusalem. He wrote to 
Macarius, the bishop of that see, with reference to the puri- 
fying the places desecrated by pagan superstition, and was 
especially desirous that the Holy Sepulchre of our Lord * 
should not only be relieved from everything impure and 
offensive, but also adorned and rendered sacred by a magnifi- 
cent temple to be erected over it. There does not appear, as 
Dr. Robinson and others represent it, any . doubt either on 
the part of the bishop and clergy, or of the emperor, that this 
spot, covered by a large mound of earth, on the top of which 
was Venus's shrine, marked really and undoubtedly the Holy 
Sepulchre of our Lord. " The emperor's orders were — not 
that any inquiry should be instituted, not that any search 
should be made, but simply that the temple (of Venus) should 
be levelled with the ground, and the earth carried away. 
This was done, and the Sepulchre came to light." So far as I 
can perceive, there is no contradiction between this statement 
and that of Eusebius ; he represents the emperor to be moved 
" by divine inspiration, and prompted by the Saviour Him- 

15 



■ 



338 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

self," when he desired to purify and adorn the place of our 
Lord's resurrection, " already," as he says, " exposed to en- 
tire oblivion and misapprehension," — exposed to such a result 
because it had been covered up ever since Hadrian's time by 
a large heap of earth, and dedicated to the worship of a hea- 
then deity. And though the emperor, in his epistle to Ma- 
carius, does use strong language, styling the recovery of " the 
sign of the holy passion of the Saviour," so long concealed 
beneath the earth, " a miracle, or wonder, sublime beyond 
conception," still it is not beyond what we might expect on 
the occasion, considering the character of the age ; and, as 
Mr. Williams says, " was it not a reasonable cause of amaze- 
ment to those who witnessed it, that the pagans, when they 
sought to obliterate the memory of the spot, should have left 
the cave entire ; and that, notwithstanding so long conceal- 
ment, it should come forth unharmed, presenting, as it were, 
a figure of the resurrection, in its own recovery ? and will 
not this satisfy the strong language of the emperor's letter ?"* 
We may admit, as I certainly do, that there is much of ex- 
aggeration, and much that is untrue, in the account relative 
to the finding of the " true cross ;" yet, surely, that does not 
bind me to set aside the historical evidence in favor of the 
sites of Calvary and the Tomb of Christ ; surely it is going 
too far to say that, because unauthorized marvels in the 
course of time were heaped upon the alleged discovery of the 
" true cross," therefore all the testimony of history, tradition, 
and the common, well-understood principles of human nature, 
is nugatory and valueless ; surely, there is no logical or nec- 
essary connection between the suspiciousness or the " work 
of pious fraud," as Dr. R. terms the invention of the cross, 
and the genuineness of the Holy Sepulchre : the one has every 
improbability in the world against it ; no one had heard of 

* "Holy City" vol. i. p. 239. — TischendorfF understands the words above 
quoted from Eusebius, to refer to the discovery of the cross, and it may be cor- 
reetty. It does not matter much, either way. 



THE CHURCH BUILT OVER THE SEPULCHRE. 339 

its existence till now ; no one had imagined before that it and 
the crosses of the two malefactors had been formally and 
carefully buried ; no one could have guessed that now, after 
nearly three centuries, they would be brought to light in per- 
fect preservation ; no one had pretended that the Christians 
had all along kept the material cross in view, and looked 
upon it with reverence ; not at all : it was quite a new thing, 
and is to be judged of on far different grounds from those on 
which the other point at issue stands. This has every prob- 
ability in its favor, independently of positive evidence ; the 
precise locality could not well be lost ; the natural features 
of Calvary, and the rock tomb in the garden, could not easily 
be erased ; the natural feelings of every Christian man could 
not let him forget the place of our Lord's death and burial. 

Constantine, whether right or wrong in his belief, that he 
was moved by a Divine impulse, did not slacken in the work 
he had taken in hand ; nor was the zeal of the bishop and 
clergy in Jerusalem a whit behind his own. " A magnificent 
church, called at first the Church of the Resurrection (Anas- 
tasis), afterwards that of the Holy Sepulchre, rose on the 
sacred spot hallowed by this discovery ; in which a large 
part of the Christian world has addressed its unquestioning 
orisons. It stood in a large open court, with porticoes on 
each side, with the usual porch, nave, and choir. The nave 
was inlaid with precious marbles ; and the roof, overlaid with 
gold, showered down a flood of light over the whole building ; 
the roofs of the aisles were likewise overlaid with gold. At 
the farther end rose a dome, supported by twelve pillars, in 
commemoration of the twelve Apostles ; the capitals of these 
were silver vases. Within the church was another court, at 
the extremity of which stood the chapel of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, lavishly adorned with gold and precious stones, as it 
were to perpetuate the angelic glory which streamed forth on 
the day of the resurrection."* 

* Milman's " History of Christianity," p. 309. 



340 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



There appears to be no occasion to pursue the subject 
further in a historical point of view : no one has ever 
doubted — I except, of course, Mr. Fergusson — that the site 
fixed upon by Constantine is the same as that now seen in the 
Holy City ;* and therefore it is quite unnecessary to quote 
the uniform testimony of travellers to prove the fact which 
is admitted on all hands. They who oppose the view which 
I have endeavored — feebly enough, I fear — to advocate, do it 
on the grounds that the topography of the Holy City will 
not allow of this being the true site of the Sepulchre ; and 
that the tradition urged in its favor is weak, uncertain, and 
inconclusive. Of the former, I leave you to judge, hoping 
that what I have been compelled to treat briefly, and it may 
be is obscure, will be further examined, if you are so dis- 
posed, in the two principal treatises on these topics, Dr. 
Robinson's and Mr. Williams's works relative to Jerusalem. 
But with respect to the latter, that of tradition, I beg to say 
a word or two more in conclusion. 

Why should we not believe in the verity of the Holy 
Sepulchre ? Is there anything improbable in the thing it- 
self? anything not worthy of credit in a tradition of this 
sort ? anything more unphilosophical in belief than in un- 
belief? or is it true that we should receive nothing for 
which we cannot find demonstrative evidence ? Who is wil- 
ling to take such ground as this, when the fact is, that the 
great majority of places held to be those whose names they 
bear have no evidence whatever to support their claims but 
common tradition ? For my own part, I hold it to be one 
of the worst features of the age in which we live, that men 
are so prone to doubt and disbelieve ; so impressed with a 
settled conviction of their superiority to their fathers ; so 
bent upon displaying their ingenuity in throwing discredit 
upon the past ; and so unwilling to look with reverence upon, 

* Dr. Robinson puts the question, " Who has ever doubted the identity of the 
present site with that selected under Constantine?" vol. ii. p. 71. 



NOTIONS OF THE PRESENT AGE. 



341 



or to receive in trusting faith, any of those things which are 
not susceptible of mathematical proof. I know not how it is, 
or why it is, but some men seem to think that they who pre- 
ceded us on the stage of being were not persons of like capa- 
bilities and like feelings with ourselves ; there is abroad a 
vague, but in general fixed notion that the ancient Christians 
knew little or nothing ; that they were on the whole very 
ignorant, and very corrupt, and very willing, for a small 
price, to practise fraud and deception ; to shut their eyes to 
manifest absurdities, and to submit to anything and every- 
thing which their teachers chose to say or do, right or 
wrong, sensible or foolish. It is the custom, too, to deal in 
much declamation against the darkness of the past ages of 
the Church — and I for one shall be the last to attempt to 
deny the truth on this point — and there is an offhand, incon- 
siderate way of charging motives upon those who are gone 
to their account and cannot answer for themselves, which 
does not reflect much credit upon the candor and fairness of 
the present age. In truth we are in the enjoyment of won- 
drous and inestimable privileges of every kind; but instead 
of being humble and more faithful in consequence, we are 
filled to the full with conceit, and our boasting is beyond 
measure ; doubtless, is the language of our speeches and our 
actions, " doubtless, we are the people, and wisdom will die 
with us !" Now, it would be well occasionally to ask our- 
selves why the Christians at the beginning of the fourth 
century and during the centuries preceding, were not as good, 
as learned in the Scriptures, as sensible, as honest, as capable 
of feeling, seeing, acting, and speaking, as their brethren of 
the nineteenth century ?* it would be a wholesome thing for 

* Both Mosheim and Gieseler, whose prejudices are entirely against admitting 
any very great purity or honesty in the third and fourth centuries, concede all 
that I wish on this point. Mosheim tells us of " the inherent energy of heavenly 
truth, and the piety and constancy of the Christian teachers," " the translation 
of the Scriptures into various lauguages," 11 the beneficence of Christians, their 
great sympathy for the poor, kindness to enemies, care of the sick, readiness to 



342 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

us to inquire, on what grounds we think that they would lie 
and deceive, or why they would not scorn such things with 
as much indignation as the very best among us ? it would 
prove very profitable to us all at the present day to look 
around and see if there be not now as much, or nearly as 
much corruption, dissension, quarrelling, superstition, and 
things of that sort, among those called Christians, as can 
fairly be charged upon the early professors of the truth as it 
is in Jesus ? It would take down our conceit a little to look 
forward into the future, and imagine how readily the coming 
generations will fling words of contempt upon us and impute 
evil motives to our actions, because a thousand years hence 
they will think themselves wiser than we in those very mat- 
ters of which we think that we know everything, and which 
we do know far better than they ever can. And, remem- 
bering these things, let me ask, why should any man, when 
more than fifteen centuries have rolled away, and when we 
know little more than the name of one out of many of the 

redeem captives, and numerous other kind offices, proving them to be deserving 
of the love and gratitude of mankind." This is of the third century: of the 
next he relates, " the untiring zeal of the bishops and other holy men, the pure 
and devout lives which many of the Christians exhibited, the translations of the 
Sacred Volume," &c. (vol. i. p. 188, 274.) Gieseler having pointed out various 
corruptions of the truth during the period from A.D. 193-324, which are admit- 
ted by every one to have had more or less sway, says, nevertheless, " While we 
cannot overlook these moral defects, we still find in the Church a living Christi- 
anity prevailing, and in consequence thereof, fine moral phenomena which are 
sought for in vain out of its pale at this period." (vol. i. p. 265.) For a more 
favorable, and I believe more just, view of the characters and lives of the early 
followers of Christ Jesus, let me refer you to the learned Dr. Cave's " Primitive 
Christianity." Dr. Burton, also, in his " Lectures upon the Ecclesiastical His- 
tory of the First Three Centuries" — a very valuable work — gives more credit to 
the early Christians for their knowledge, goodness, honesty, &c, than the Ger- 
man school are ever willing to allow ; one sentence I beg to quote : " The fiery 
trial of ten years (the Diocletian persecution) would naturally purify the Church 
from corrupt or useless members ; and if we were to fix upon any time since the 
days of the Apostles, when the lives of Christians were likely to win the hearts 
of the heathen, it would probably be the time when the death of Maximinus 
placed the whole of the empire at the disposal of Constantine." (p. 652.) 



CHRISTIANS OF THE FOURTH CENTURY. 343 

teachers of Christian truth in the Holy City, put on record 
such words as these respecting the bishop and clergy of Jeru- 
salem in the early part of the fourth century ? — " It would 
perhaps not be doing injustice to the bishop Macarius and 
his clergy, if we regard the whole as a well-laid and success- 
ful plan for restoring to Jerusalem its former consideration, 
and elevating his see to a higher degree of influence and 
dignity."^ O deplorable and unheard of condition of a 
Church ! not one, from the bishop downward, through the 
hundred or more clergy and the thousands of the laity, not 
one to lift up his voice against a lie ! O wonder of wonders, 
that the bishop and all his clergy should be fools as well as 
liars ! for not only do they falsely declare that here is the 
site of Calvary and the Tomb, but they must needs locate 
their falsehood in such a position as to make it evident to 
the simplest reader of the Scriptures that it is a falsehood, 
for it is inside the city walls ! who can believe that the 
Gospels were lost ; or if not lost, that the bishop and his 
clergy knew not how to read ; or if they knew how to read, 
that they did not read, and when they tried their hands at 
imposture, did not put their supposititious sepulchre outside 
the walls beyond any doubt ? who can believe that the 
learned author of the " Biblical Researches," erudite as he 
is, knows more about Jerusalem and its localities in the 
fourth century than Macarius, the bishop who presided more 
than twenty years over the Church in the Holy City ?t and 
who, unless it may be himself, is unaware how easily his 
words might be retorted upon him, and some ignorant 
and prejudiced person might charge him with all the evil he 
has heaped upon the memory of the bishop and clergy of 
Jerusalem? as something in this wise : "it would not 

* " Biblical Researches" vol. ii. p. 80. 

f Macarius died (A.D. 327) in the first year of the building of Constantine's 
splendid Basilica; the edifice was completed in about ten years, and the dedica- 
tion was kept on the tricennalia of the emperor, in the year 336. 



344 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



perhaps be doing injustice to the" very learned author of 
the Biblical Researches, "if we regard the whole" of his 
book, " as a well-laid and successful plan for restoring to 

its former consideration, and .elevating his .... to a 

higher degree of influence and dignity ;" — the blanks to be 
filled up according to the temper and wishes of the person 
casting evil imputations upon the acute and deeply-read 
professor."* 

Why, then, I ask again, should we not believe in the ver- 
ity of the Holy Sepulchre ? we may be sure that the first 
Christians knew well the sites of the passion, death, and res- 
urrection of our Lord ; we may be equally sure that succeed- 
ing generations were quite as well informed as their fathers 
and brethren on these points ; and unless we choose to believe 
everything evil of the third and fourth centuries, and deter- 
mine to find no good in those who suffered persecution, tor- 
ture, and death for the truth as it is in Jesus, we may be 
certain that they knew and that they testified truly respect- 
ing Calvary, the tomb in the rock, and other revered spots in 
and about the Holy City.t I know not how it may strike 
your mind, but I profess to you that the more I think upon 

* Of course, you will understand that I disclaim everything like personalities 
in a discussion of this kind ; and am perfectly free to accord to those who differ 
from me, an equal sincerity, honesty, and thoroughness of conviction, with that 
which I claim for myself I take the more pleasure in speaking thus, because 
it has fallen to my lot to have the honor of personal acquaintance with the dis- 
tinguished champions, both for and against the genuineness of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, as also with the learned and ingenious originator of the novel theory 
which owns him alone as its supporter (I mean Mr. Fergusson). Here, as every- 
where, I pray that truth only may prevail. 

•f- " When," asks Dr. Olin, in his very able summary of the argument for the 
genuineness of the Holy Sepulchre, " would be the period, or what the possible 
circumstances in which it would be practicable to begin to practise imposition or 
impose ignorance upon the thousands of Christians born and reared in sight of 
Calvary, who would naturally and irresistibly be led to venerate and visit the 
consecrated spot at every recital of the Redeemer's sufferings by parent or priest, 
and by every impulse of faith or gratitude in their own bosoms V — " Travels in 
Egypt," &c, vol. ii. p. 287. 



MR. BARTLETT'S VIEWS. 



345 



the matter and the more closely I examine the subject, the 
more thoroughly am I convinced, notwithstanding I was in 
great doubt when I went to Jerusalem, that, take the argument 
as a whole, it approaches almost to a demonstration : less 
than this I should hardly dare to deem sufficient; more than 
this, I should be ashamed to presume to ask. 

And now, my dear S., I do most sincerely beg pardon for 
this unconscionably long discussion : take it for what it is 
worth ; and though that may be little, yet believe me that 
truth only is my end and aim. If truth be at all promoted 
by what I have said or written, I shall esteem myself happy 
and honored : pray for me and with me, that it be not sullied 
or undervalued by aught which I may attempt to do to pro- 
mote its spread among men. 



P. S. I cannot forbear adding two or three quotations from 
the works of living writers bearing on the discussion in the 
present letter : they are worth perusing, and are not wanting 
in significancy, coming, as they do, from the decided oppo- 
nents of the view which I have ventured to adopt. 

"We cannot doubt that the Apostles and first Christian con- 
verts at Jerusalem, must not only have known the spot, but 
that this knowledge must have descended to the next genera- 
tion, even though no peculiar sanctity were by them attributed 
to it. Soon after the destruction of the city, it is generally 
supposed that some among them returned to re-establish them- 
selves among its ruins ; and it seems almost incredible that they 
should not have sought for the spot again, and pointed it out 
to their descendants, as worthy of pious remembrance. Making 
every allowance for the fact that the first converts were 
rather absorbed in the spiritual influences of Christianity, 
than careful about the different sites of its history, we think 

15* 



346 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



it must be still conceded, that it is very improbable that the 
knowledge of those lying immediately around them should 
entirely die out. The presumption, then, would seem rea- 
sonable that the Christians at Jerusalem must have been ac- 
quainted with the real Calvary, when Constantine erected 
the original church of the Holy Sepulchre upon the same site 
occupied by that now standing."- — "Walks about Jerusalem" 
p. 169, 170. 

" I believe that the boundaries of property were well de- 
fined, and registers kept, describing every field and house, 
and more especially everything in the immediate proximity 
of the capital of a Roman colony, as iElia Capitolina was in 
the time of Constantine ; so that I do think it more than 
probable that he (the emperor) possessed the means of ascer- 
taining the fact beyond all doubt ; indeed, the narrative of 
Eusebius seems to presuppose that such information did exist, 
for there is no doubt or hesitation apparent, either in the mind 
of the emperor or the historian, as to where the place was. . . . 
Golgotha .... must have been at all times one of the best 
known spots about Jerusalem, and one as likely to have re- 
tained its name, in the time of Constantine, as any other ; — 
so much so that it appears to me almost a work of superero- 
gation to go to the register, or any remote argument, for its 
fixation ; and even supposing all Christian, tradition to have 
been silent, and no registers to have existed, I cannot but 
think that Constantine might easily have ascertained the 
knowledge he sought, of the exact position of that spot, and 
from that at least known whereabouts the sepulchre stood, — 
if he could not point out exactly the identical cave in which 
the body was laid. My own belief is, that he had the means 
of ascertaining both, but most certainly that of Golgotha." — 
Fergusson's "Essay on the Ancient Topography of Jerusa- 
lem," p. 85, 86. 

" Is the alleged site of the Tomb of Christ, over which the 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built, really beyond the line 



dr. wilson's judgment. 



347 



of this (the second) wall, .... and consequently entitled to 
the presumption of genuineness ; or within its course, and 
therefore altogether apocryphal and erroneous ? This ques- 
tion, owing to its connection with alleged ecclesiastical mira- 
cles and ancient and modern exhibitions both of devotion and 
superstition, is now admitted on all hands to be highly im- 
portant. Dr. Robinson, after a laborious and calm discus- 
sion, has answered it in the negative, as others had done 
before his day ; but his conclusions, though they have ob- 
tained the acquiescence of multitudes of his readers, both in 
Europe .and America, have been assented to but by few of 
the travellers ivho have visited Jerusalem, and favored the 
world with the result of their observations, since the publi- 
cation of his most important Biblical Researches." 

" To what is called the historical argument, I shall now refer. 
I do not know that anything of consequence remains to be 
added to what he has advanced on the subject, though, after 
a careful perusal of his authorities, I am inclined to say 
that he has perhaps pressed them somewhat beyond their 
legitimate boundsP — Dr. Wilson's " Lands of the Bible" 
vol. i. p. 433, 434, 438. 



LETTER XVII. 



38eti)U!)em antr its VUtntt$. 

Environs of Jerusalem. — Attractions. — Excursion to Bethlehem, Frank Mountain, &c. — Pros- 
pect from near the City. — Plain of Rephaim. — View of a Part of the Dead Sea. — Character- 
istics of the Hills and Vales seen on our Way.— Illustrations of Holy Scripture.— Musings 
upon David's Eventful Career.— Picturesque Situation of^Bethlehem. — Arrival at the Frank 
Mountain. — Herodium. — Ascent of the Hill. — View from the Summit. — Ruins there. — 
Thence to Solomon's Pools. — Value of Water in the East. — The Pools. — Massive Masonry. — 
Position.— Route to Bethlehem.— Convent and Church.— Place of the Nativity.— Is the Tra- 
dition Reliable ?— The Town.— Reflections upon the History and Events connected with 
Bethlehem.— Jacob, Rachel, Naomi, Ruth.— The Blessed Virgin, the Holy Child, the 
Shepherds, the Magi, &c— Rachel's Tomb.— Reach Jerusalem at Sunset.— Extract from 
Mr. Pratt's Journal, relative to Hebron and its Vicinity. 

Jerusalem, April 16th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

The Holy City is so full of attractions to the Christian 
pilgrim, and he finds his time so fully occupied in meditating 
upon its past history, its present degraded state, and its pros- 
pective position, when God shall have mercy upon Israel, and 
the veil which is upon their hearts shall be taken away, that 
other objects in the vicinity of Jerusalem seem to have less 
than their due importance in his eyes, and he can hardly bear 
to lose the time — as he feels it — to visit them as they deserve. 
Yet it is not to be supposed, that the environs of the city of 
the Great King are deficient in interest, or unworthy by 
comparison with the Holy City ; for it is not so, in reality. 
The hills and mountains, as well as the towns and villages 
about Jerusalem, abound in recollections of the part, and have 
each and all borne their part in the wonderful story of other 
and brighter days ; and it is quite true, that one cannot ride 



EXCURSION TO THE FRANK MOUNTAIN. 



349 



or walk in any direction outside of the walls, without meet- 
ing with something to remind him of the Scriptures of truth, 
and the history of the chosen people. I was rather struck 
with this fact, after some days spent in visiting and wander- 
ing amid the touching, as well as sad, localities about Beth- 
lehem, the Jordan, the Dead Sea, etc. It will, perhaps, be a 
relief to the long story which I have been telling you, in some 
previous letters, about Jerusalem, if you will go with me for 
a while in an excursion to the points alluded to above. I can 
hardly dare hope for it, but I should be delighted if I were 
able to convey to you the same pleasure which it was my lot 
to enjoy in a visit to Bethlehem and its vicinity. 

In company with two other gentlemen from England, I 
left Jerusalem early, one clear and bright morning, for an ex- 
cursion to the " Frank Mountain," as it is termed, intending, 
on our return, to take in Bethlehem and some points between 
it and Jerusalem. We passed out of the Jaffa or Bethle- 
hem gate, and descending the hill, and leaving the extensive 
pool of Gihon on our left, between us and the wall, we turned 
toward the south. We had a fine glimpse of the deep valley 
of Hinnom, with its fertile spots and pretty garden enclosures, 
as we rode along the hill-side, on the west, and gradually 
came upon the high table-land toward the south, as one looks 
in the direction of Bethlehem. Though not particularly 
striking, the scene was by no means deficient in interest and 
attractiveness : looking back, we had the Holy City spread 
out before our eyes, in part only, Mount Zion rearing its lofty 
head, and shutting out from view much that otherwise would 
have been visible. On our left, the hill-sides, terraced, and 
thus made serviceable for cultivation, suggested many a 
thought of the rural life of Judea. The "Mount of Offence," 
on the opposite side of the valley, and the " Hill of Evil 
Counsel," nearer, and to the south of the vale of Hinnom, 
gave rise to reflections not more sad than painful ; for we 
thought of the wisest of monarchs, who is said here to have 



350 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



defiled the glory of his name, and done dishonor to the one 
only true God, by sacrificing to idols and those which be no 
gods ; # and our minds dwelt for a while upon the plots and 
evil counsel of the chief priests and elders, against the holy 
and harmless, and undefiled One, and upon the unutterable 
guilt of the traitor Judas, who betrayed the innocent blood 
of his Lord and Master. In general, as I think I have be- 
fore stated, the face of the country about Jerusalem has a hard 
and almost barren appearance ; the rocks in many places are 
bare, and the soil is for the most part thin and scanty ; on 
the level surface over which we were slowly riding, there was 
indeed deeper earth, but it abounded in loose stones, and was 
deeply tinged with a reddish brown color, indicating the pres- 
ence of a large proportion of clay ; nevertheless, the ground 
is far from unfruitful, and the waving fields of grain and 
grass, the groves of olive, the fig-trees, the pomegranates, the 
pear, and other fruits, not only gave token of what the land 
is capable of producing, but added greatly to the interest and 
beauty of the scene, as beheld under the morning sun of 
April's lovely month. 

We did not take the usual road in our excursion, but 
branched off, soon after leaving the city, rather to the left, 
and followed the sheep or goat-paths along the sides of the 
hills or over the level spots, .till we arrived at the " Frank 
Mountain." On our right, we passed the plain or valley of 
Rephaim, so celebrated in Scripture history as the place 
where the Philistines " came up and spread themselves" 
against David, after he had been anointed king over Israel.! 
I could well imagine, as from a slight elevation we looked 
abroad over this extensive valley or plain, what a grand bat- 
tle-field it must have formed, when on the one side were the 
Philistines, with their chariots and horsemen, " and people 

* See 1 Kings, xi. 1-7. 

•f See 2 Sam. v. 18, 22; 1 Chron. xi. 15 ; Isa. xvii. 5 ; in Joshua, xv. 8, and 
xviii. 16, the same locality is termed " the valley of the giants." 



VICINITY OF JERUSALEM. 



351 



as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude." and on 
the other were David and the host of the Lord, who went 
out before him to smite the armies of the uncircumcised 
Philistines. How peaceful seemed now the face of nature, 
in places where, many a time, hand to hand, has been the 
struggle of death ; and what a picture did imagination shad- 
ow forth of the fierce and unholy passions of man — those 
" lusts," whence, as the Apostle has taught us, arise " wars 
and fightings !" Alas, it was a sad and humiliating reflec- 
tion, which almost forced itself upon my mind, that even in 
our days, when the blessed Gospel of the Prince of Peace is 
proclaimed throughout the civilized world, the same root of 
bitterness springs up to trouble us, the same unholy desires 
operate, the same detestable spirit of war and conquest still 
exists. It may be too much to hope for the prevalence of 
peace, while so great evil finds place in the hearts of men ; 
yet we must not neglect to pray for it unceasingly ; we must 
not forget the sublime and glorious import of the petition, 
" Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven ." 

From a point near the eastern boundary of the valley of 
Rephaim, we had a view of a portion of the Dead Sea, with 
the mountains of Moab beyond : the atmosphere was rather 
deficient in clearness at this moment, and gave a sombre hue 
as well to objects nearer by as to those more in the distance ; 
but, so far from detracting from the scene, it appeared as 
only fit and becoming, since rarely could we look upon a sight 
more full of solemnizing reflections than this, which brought 
the awful punishment of the cities of the plain distinctly, as 
it were, before our eyes. 

Proceeding at a slow pace, we rode along in a southerly 
direction, at one time passing down the steep and rocky sides 
of a high hill, at another, shut out from, the surrounding world, 
we beheld the smiling and lovely fields of grain and grass in 
the deep recesses of some quiet valley : now, we would come 



352 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



upon flocks of sheep and goats, and would be struck with the 
singular circumstance that they are almost always thus kept 
together under a shepherd's care ; and we felt, as never we 
had felt before, the force of our Lord's words when speaking 
of the last judgment ; — " when the Son of Man shall come in 
His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit 
upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered 
all nations ; and He shall separate them one from another, as 
a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats ; and He shall 
set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left."* 
You will believe me that our thoughts were turned to this 
dread event with something more than an ordinary sense of 
its near approach, and our aspirations went up before God 
our Saviour, that in the last day when He shall come again 
in power and great glory to judge the world, we may be found 
acceptable in His sight, and may hear those life-giving words, 
" Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the world." At another 
time, our eyes were greeted with vineyards and enclosed gar- 
dens, protected by a round tower built in or just by it : and 
immediately our minds were impressed with the passages of 
Holy Writ, which were here again illustrated and confirmed : 
" Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved, 
touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in 
a very fruitful hill ; and he fenced it, and gathered out the 
stones thereof and planted it with the choicest vine, and built 
a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein ; 
and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought 
forth wild grapes."! So, too, our blessed Lord in one of His 
parables alludes to the same striking point in illustration of 
his Divine teaching : "A certain man planted a vineyard, 
and set an hedge about it and digged a place for the wine- 
fat, and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen, and 
went into a far country."! In every direction we beheld these 

* Matt. xxv. 31-33. f Isa. v. I, 2. % Mark, xii. 1. 



SCRIPTURAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 



353 



towers, which are usually very solid and secure, and being 
built of stone to the height of about twenty feet, serve admi- 
rably for the purposes of defence against an enemy, or for 
protection against the sudden storms of the country. We 
had them in sight during the greater part of the day, and 
could not but think of the deep meaning couched under 
figures, so well known and so easy of application by those to 
whom the language of Holy Scripture was addressed. How 
touching the expostulation, " What could have been done 
more to my vineyard that I have not done in it ? rt How true 
is it that " the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts, the house of 
Israel, and the men of Judah" is laid waste, its hedge taken 
away, its wall broken down, its tower in ruins ; for " he 
looked for judgment, but behold oppression, for righteousness, 
but behold a cry!" How true, too, is it that the guilty 
husbandmen in our Lord and Master's vineyard, not only 
shamefully entreated His servants, killed His prophets, and 
stoned them that were sent unto them, but consummated 
their long and dreadful career of wickedness, by taking away 
the life of the well-beloved son of the lord of the vineyard ; 
and thus brought upon themselves destruction and misery unut- 
terable ! While we rejoice that the branches which have 
been broken off from the good olive tree, " if they abide not 
in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graff them 
in again," let us not be highminded but fear; "for if God 
spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare 
not us." # 

You will not doubt that the reflections inspired by these 
and similar passages of God's Holy Word were of a whole- 
some and profitable character : few, I imagine, can visit the 
Holy Land without learning much in respect to the meaning 
of Scripture, even if it do not touch their hearts with its 
solemn and awful, as well as joyful and glorious truths, as 
forcibly as it ought ; while to those who read it and study it, 

* Rom. xi. 20, 21,23. 



354 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. * 



not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of 
God, it comes home, here on the spot, with a power and in- 
tensity far beyond any efforts of mine to express. I was 
deeply impressed with this idea, more particularly, while we 
were in the neighborhood of Bethlehem, and wandering over 
the very hills and dales so renowned in ancient Scripture 
story. The past seemed to rise before me with a distinct- 
ness quite surprising, and I could almost fancy that the 
scenes and events of several thousands of years long gone 
by, were enacted but yesterday, sO truthful and so graphic 
appeared everything about me. Here, on these very hills, 
meth ought, that fair and lovely boy once kept his father's 
sheep, he whose fame has spread through all lands, and 
whose name is dear to every Christian heart. Here, in these 
valleys, and on the mountain sides round about Bethlehem, 
he led the sheep and the goats to pasture, and in the quiet 
stillness of each passing day gave his thoughts and his 
wishes to the praising and meditating upon the Lord his 
God. It was near this very spot, over which we now were 
treading, that the great and good Samuel, mourning for the 
rejected Saul with a great mourning, passed on his way to 
Bethlehem, in order to sanctify Jesse and his sons, and call 
them to the sacrifice : the youthful David was, at first, it 
would seem, forgotten ; but at the prophet's express requi- 
sition, he was sent for. Leaving his flock for a season, and 
doubtless full of wonder and guileless expectation, he came 
to join the festal assemblage ; and there the aged Samuel 
first beheld the manly boy, who was " ruddy and of a fair 
countenance," and whom God, who looks not on the outward 
appearance but on the heart, had chosen to feed His people 
Israel. What a change, we may well suppose, came over 
David, when having been anointed in the midst of his 
brethren, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that 
day forward ;" how his mind expanded, his thoughts were 
set upon great and holy things, his purposes and plans only 



musings upon david's career. 



355 



for the glory of the Lord God of Hosts: how wise, and 
prudent, and valiant, and surpassingly skilful in playing 
upon the harp, did the noble youth become, so much so that 
Saul loved him greatly and made him his armor-bearer, and 
the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David with 
a love surpassing that of women. I could easily fancy him, 
returning from the novel and wearisome splendor of a court, 
to the peaceful and happy occupation of once more feeding 
his father's sheep on these hill-sides of Bethlehem : I could 
see him, methought, when there came a lion and a bear and 
took a lamb out of his flock, how he arose and girded him- 
self with the strength from on high, how he pursued after 
the lion and the bear, how he delivered the tender lamb out 
of their jaws, and how he slew both the lion and the bear f* 
and when in consequence of his victory over the uncircum- 
cised Philistine, who had dared to defy the armies of the 
Lord of Hosts, he was called to leave forever these familiar 
scenes, to take part in the wars and contests of the king, 
and subsequently to struggle for very existence against the 
jealous power and vindictiveness of his own father-in-law, I 
could, as I fancied, see him look back, with unavailing re- 
grets, upon the quiet haunts of his early days, and utter 
many a sigh for the peaceful hours when his soul bad been 
wrapt into communion with Him whose praises he has 
sung, in strains of such marvellous sweetness and beauty. 

It needs not that I dwell upon the various points of inter- 
est which we met with upon the road : at one time we had 
Bethlehem itself on our right, and gazed upon it in its pic- 
turesque position on the side of a hill near the top ; at another 
we passed, at intervals, near several small villages, situate in 
retired spots among the mountains, and not infrequently in 
some deep dell, shut out, as it were, from the neighboring 
world : in general, we rode for hours amid scenery of the 
most varied as well as most interesting kind ; now making 

* 2 Sam. xvii. 34-36. 



356 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



our way through romantic passes, with frowning precipices 
on either hand ; now riding down or up the sides of high hills, 
each moment opening some new point of view ; and now fol- 
lowing the path through lovely vineyards, olive groves, and 
fields of grain, and beholding " the sycamore trees that are in 
the low plains in abundance."* We had like to have lost our 
way at one time, and deemed it safest to call for a guide 
who professed to know the road : it was a ploughman, whom 
we addressed, and without hesitation, for a few piastres, he 
left his plough to the care of a friend whom he had near him, 
and set off at a brisk walk for the mountain. Under his 
guidance we soon arrived in the vicinity of the lofty conical 
hill, which has received the name of Jebel el-Fureidis, Hill 
of Paradise, or the Frank Mountain, and which, though not 
very often visited, deserves some notice, at least, on account 
of the remains near its base and on its summit. 

The ruins near the foot of the mountain are supposed by 
Dr. Robinson to indicate the site of the Herodium, a large 
city erected by Herod the Great, of which the hill and fort- 
ress constituted the Acropolis.t The learned author quotes 
the account of Josephus in respect to this city, and makes it 
appear from various particulars, such as the situation, which 
is about seven miles south of Jerusalem, and not far from 
Tekoa, the mountain answering to the one of which Josephus 
speaks, the round towers, the large reservoirs of water, and 
the city below, — that the Frank Mountain and its vicinity 
were originally occupied by this splendid city and strong 
fortress. Perhaps it was here, too, that the body of Herod 
was brought for burial, two hundred stadia from Jericho, 
where he died.t Certainly, even a cursory look at the ruins 
near the base of the mountain, and the remains on the sum- 
mit, must strike the attention of every traveller, and force 

* 2 Chron. ix. 27. 

t On Capt. Corry's map of Syria. Herodium is placed considerably to the east 
of the Frank Mountain ; Berghaus's map agrees with Robinson's, 
^ See Robinson's : ' Biblical Researches." vol. ii. p. 173. 



THE FRANK MOUNTAIN. 



357 



Mm to the conclusion, that this locality was once deemed of 
great importance, both as a place of strength, and as a fitting 
site for a large and beautiful city.* Irby and Mangles men- 
tion the tradition, apparently of recent date, that the Frank 
Mountain was " maintained by the Franks forty years after 
the fall of Jerusalem," and the expulsion of the crusaders. 
They go on, however, to say, that "the place is too small 
ever to have contained one half the number of men which 
would have been requisite to make any stand in such a coun- 
try ; and the ruins, though they may be those of a place 
once defended by Franks, appear to have had an earlier ori- 
gin, as the architecture seems to be Roman."! Maundrell, 
also, speaks of "a high, sharp hill, called the Mountain of 
the Franks, because defended by a party of the crusaders 
forty years after the loss of Jerusalem." $ 

"We found the ascent rather toilsome, though not difficult. 
The mountain is lofty, and rises from its base in the shape of 
almost a perfect cone, truncated, however, at about three 
fourths of its height. Our horses carried us a part of the way 
up; but before reaching the top, we were obliged to dis- 
mount, and proceed on foot the remainder of the way. In 
many respects, the view is fine from the summit of this high 
hill ; but on the whole, it did not equal the expectations I had 

* Josephus thus speaks of the Herodium: "An artificial mound, shaped like 
a woman's breast, distant sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, Herod named simi- 
larly and adorned in a more ambitious style. The summit he embraced with 
circular towers occupying the enclosure with the most sumptuous structures ; 
and not only did the interior of these present an air of magnificence, but on 
the outer walls also, with the battlements and roofs, was lavished a profusion 
of costly ornaments. He moreover, conveyed to it, from a great distance, and 
at an immense expense, an ample supply of water, and rendered the ascent 
easy, by two hundred steps of the whitest marble, the mound being of consid- 
erable elevation and entirely artificial. He erected also, at the base, other 
palaces for the reception of his furniture and friends ; so that the fort, in the 
diversity of its accommodation, resembled a town— in its circumscribed limits, a 
royal residence." — Joseph. " Bell. Jud." lib. i. cap. xx. 10. 

f Irby and Mangles's " Travels," &c, chap, vii., May 7th. 

% Maundrell's "Journey" &e., March 31st. 



358 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



been led to form. To the south and west, the prospect 
is very limited, though I had been told, that Hebron and its 
vicinity could be seen from this elevation, which is quite the 
reverse of the truth. Looking eastwardly, however, our eyes 
were greeted with the sight of a considerable portion of the 
Dead Sea, which lay spread out in all its silent gloom and 
impressiveness, and seemed to harmonize well with the barren, 
sterile, and as it were tenantless region round about. Long 
and earnestly did we gaze upon this scene — a scene calculated 
to fill the mind with sad and solemn thoughts, and tending to 
fasten in the memory the fearful story of the awful wicked- 
ness, and the no less awful punishment, of the cities of the 
plain. Surely, in Palestine, if nowhere else, it is impossible 
not to see the hand of God in the judgments and vengeance 
He has denounced against all manner of iniquity. The view 
to the north is extensive, but offers few points on which it is 
worth while to dwell. We found it more interesting to ex- 
amine, with no great minuteness it is true, the ruins of the 
fortress which at one time occupied the summit of this moun- 
tain. Dr. Robinson says, that the top of the hill constitutes 
a circle of about seven hundred and fifty feet in circumfer- 
ence, and that the whole of this is enclosed by the ruined walls 
of a circular fortress, built of hewn stones of good size, with 
four massive round towers, standing one at each of the car- 
dinal points. Without pretending to any knowledge of 
military science, I was much impressed with the fact that 
this post must have been impregnable, and that the persons 
who originally built the fortifications must have looked upon 
it as of prime importance, and worthy the care, labor, and ex- 
pense bestowed upon it. One of the towers — that on the 
east — is partially remaining, and gives one a good idea of the 
solidity of the structure in its palmy days. Inside of the 
walls, or ruins, the ground descends rapidly to a considerable 
depth, not unlike the crater of a volcano. At present it is 
difficult to tell whether there was formerly an excavation in 



VALUE OF WATER IN THE EAST. 



359 



the enclosure, or whether, in the lapse of time, the ruins may 
have formed a mound or slight elevation around the former 
level of the summit ; but, either way, it is of no great conse- 
quence. 

After spending an hour or more in this interesting occupa- 
tion, we descended the moantain and turned off to the west. 
For some distance our course was along the hill-sides and 
through the valleys which abound in this region : a part of 
our way was through a very deep and very lovely ravine, 
which was rendered all the more attractive because of the 
care and skill bestowed upon its cultivation, and the sweet, 
clear, and babbling brook which flowed through its midst. 
At all times, water is refreshing to the eye as well as to the 
body, but nowhere does it appear more delightful, nowhere 
is one more deeply impressed with the value of this greatest 
of blessings, than here in the East, when suddenly the trav- 
eller comes upon the sparkling fountain, or a stream of pure 
water, gliding along fraught with countless mercies to the 
sons of men. We saw, at no great distance from the point 
where we first met with this beautiful rivulet, the remains 
of a large reservoir ; and a^ number of women were occupied 
in washing of clothes by the water's edge.^ I was much 
gratified by the kind and cheerful manner with which they 
brought and offered to us water to drink out of their earthen 
jars, an offering the most acceptable which j ust then we could 
have received, since we had not tasted a drop from the time 
that we had left Jerusalem unto the present moment, owing to 
the carelessness of our dragoman, who had forgotten to bring 
it with him for our expedition. I may take occasion here, as 
not inappropriate, and certainly deeply fixed in my memory 

* Dr. Robinson's suggestion is most probably correct ; he says: "If we are 
to look anywhere in this quarter for Etam, which was decorated by Solomon, 
with gardens and streams of water, and fortified by Rehoboam, along with 
Bethlehem and Tekoa; and whence, too, according to the Rabbins, water was 
carried by an aqueduct to Jerusalem ; I know of no site so probable as this 
spot." (See 2 Chr. xi. G.) — " Biblical Researches" vol. ii. p. 168. 



360 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



in consequence of a want of a draught of water for several 
hours, to warn the traveller in these hot climates, especially 
to make provision for a supply of water wherever he goes, 
that he may not imprudently drink, when he is heated, the 
cold water out of the deep cisterns sometimes found by the 
road-side, and may not be compelled to ride or walk for hours 
exposed to the hot sun without a supply of this necessary and 
refreshing element. 

About half past two, having traversed a narrow, stony 
valley,* we came to those vast receptacles for water, com- 
monly known as " Solomon's Pools." We had been riding 
for some little time by the side of, and over the aqueduct 
which carries the watery from the pools to Bethlehem, and so 
on to the great mosk built on the site of the temple in Je- 
rusalem. There were evident traces of antiquity about the 
aqueduct, and in several places it was much out of repair; 
nevertheless, it was not difficult to see and feel its importance 
not only to Bethlehem, but to the Holy City itself. The pools 
of Solomon are really grand and striking from their extent 
and their great antiquity, and they are worthy his distin- 
guished wisdom and the glory of his reign. Fancy to your- 
self three immense reservoirs, built with great care, of solid 
masonry, and in close proximity to one another, t Being con- 

* Speaking of this locality Maundrell remarks : " Below the pools there runs 
down a narrow, rocky valley, enclosed on hoth sides with high mountains. This 
the friars will have to be the enclosed garden, alluded to in the same place of 
the Canticles before cited (ch. iv. 12): 'a garden enclosed is my sister, my 
spouse ; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.' What truth there may be in this 
conjecture, I cannot absolutely pronounce. As to the pools, it is probable 
enough they might be the same with Solomon's, there being not the like store 
of excellent spring water to be met with anywhere else throughout all Palestine : 
but, for the gardens, one may safely affirm, that, if Solomon made them in the 
rocky ground which is now assigned for them, he demonstrated greater power 
and wealth in finishing his design, than he did wisdom in choosing the place 
for it." — Maundrell's 11 Journey," tf*c, April 1st. 

f I was not able to measure the pools myself, as I had intended ; Dr. Rob- 
inson's measurements are as follows : Lower pool ; length, 582 ft., breadth, E. 
end, 207 ft., W. end, 148 ft., depth, 50 feet ; middle pool, length, 423 ft., breadth, 



Solomon's pools. 



361 



structed on the steep sides of the valley, they rise one above 
the other, but not in a direct line, toward the top of the hill, 
so that in fact the bottom of the middle is higher than the 
top of the lower pool, and the bottom of the upper higher than 
the top of the middle pool ; there is, too, between them a dis- 
tance of from about two hundred to two hundred and fifty 
feet. At the time we were there, the lower and middle pools 
had not much water in them, in the case of the former, hardly 
sufficient to cover one half of the broad bottom ; the upper 
pool seemed to be about one third full, and the water was 
probably about ten feet deep. It was certainly a peculiarity 
worth noticing, that the sides of the reservoirs were covered 
and made smooth with cement ; the bottom was partly of the 
rocks in their natural state ; and in several places there were 
flights of steps which led down into the pools when the water 
chanced to be low. The source whence these reservoirs were 
supplied, is a sunken fountain situate in the high ground, 
about three hundred feet to the north-west of the pools. Maun- 
drell, in 1697, visited this fountain, and took some pains to 
examine it ; perhaps I cannot do better than quote his judi- 
cious and accurate remarks, which will serve as a fitting con- 
clusion to all that need here be said of Solomon's Pools. He 
informs us that the waters " rise under ground, and have no 
avenue to them but by a little hole like to the mouth of a 
narrow well. Through this hole you descend directly down, 
but not without some difficulty, for about four yards, and 
then arrive in a vaulted room fifteen paces long and eight 
broad. Joining to this is another room of the same fashion, 
but somewhat less. Both these rooms are covered with hand- 
some stone arches, very ancient, and perhaps the work of 
Solomon himself. You find here four places at which the 
water rises. From those separate sources it is conveyed by 
little rivulets into a kind of basin; and from thence is carried 

E. end, 250 ft, W. end, 160 ft., depth, 39 ft. ; upper pool, length, 380 ft., breadth, 
E. end, 236 ft., W. end, 229 ft., depth, 25 ft. 

16 



362 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

by a large subterraneous passage down into the pools. In the 
way, before it arrives at the pools, there is an aqueduct of 
brick pipes, which receives part of the stream, and carries it 
by many turnings and windings about the mountains, to Je- 
rusalem."* 

It was getting late in the afternoon when we arrived in the 
vicinity of Bethlehem, on our road homeward to the Holy 
City ; and as it was necessary to reach Jerusalem before sun- 
set, at which time the gates are closed, and no strangers per- 
mitted to enter, we gave little heed to most of the merely 
traditionary localities in and about the town, and devoted our 
time and attention principally to those which have strong 
claims on the confidence and sympathies of the Christian. 
We rode through a part of the town, and proceeded at once 
to the large and rather imposing church built over the place 
of our Lord's nativity : it is directly by the side of and con- 
nected with the extensive convent at Bethlehem, which is 
occupied by the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who, so far 
as I know, live together in greater harmony than unhappily 
is the case in Jerusalem. Passing through a very low and 
narrow portal, we entered the spacious church, walked slowly 
forwards towards the eastern end, where mass was being per- 
formed, and followed our guide to the spot where tradition 
attests that our blessed Saviour was born. To one unac- 
customed to the singularly ill-judged and tasteless manner in 
which holy places have been overladen with ornaments, the 
grotto of the nativity would appear to have small claims on 
the attention. I confess, that not only here, but almost every- 
where in the Holy Land, there is much, far too much, which 
annoys the traveller, and sometimes urges him to the convic- 
tion that none of the traditions in favor of particular localities 
have any great value or importance. The strong desire — in 
former days amounting almost to a passion — for building 
churches and erecting altars over sacred and revered spots, as 

* Maundrell's " Journey" &c, April 1st. 



THE GROTTO OF THE NATIVITY. 



363 



well as for encasing in marble and precious metals, and load- 
ing with profuse decorations, some holy grotto or some sacred 
tomb of saint or martyr, has done injury in more ways 
than one to the cause of truth, but principally by tending to 
confound, one with another, those places which are probably, 
or almost certainly, the localities which they profess to be, 
and those for which naught can be urged, except very recent, 
contradictory and baseless traditions. This is deeply to be 
regretted, and not a little adds to the perplexities of the en- 
lightened pilgrim who desires to discriminate rightly, and is 
laudably anxious, while rejecting those stories which have 
manifestly no foundation, and have arisen out of the fond de- 
sire of the human mind to fix a visible site to every Scripture 
event, not to run into the dangerous extreme of doubting 
everything or believing nothing which ancient tradition has 
handed down even to our own days. You, who know that 
my desire is only for truth in these matters, will credit me 
that it was almost painful for me to descend a number of 
marble steps into a small dimly lighted chapel; to see the 
spot pointed out as the place of the nativity, covered with all 
kinds of ornaments, and resorted to by devotees from all 
quarters, with prostrations, kissings, and adoration, amount- 
ing, it would appear, very near to absolute idolatry ; to look 
upon a marble manger in which, it is said, the Holy Babe 
was laid, but which has the evident marks of modern origin, 
and to stand with bowed head in or near a place which I dare 
hardly doubt to be the place where the Virgin Mother brought 
forth her first-born son, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, 
and laid Him in a manger. I could not throw myself upon 
these cold stones, and press my lips to these false mementoes 
of the incarnation of our Divine Lord and Master ; I had none 
of that feeling which induces the credulous and ignorant pil- 
grim to receive all that is told him, whether true or false; and 
yet I would fain believe that my thoughts and emotions were, 
in measure at least, akin to the great and glorious truth that 



364 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



" God was manifest in the flesh," " that our Lord sprang out 
of Judah," and that great David's greater Son was born in 
the city of David, a Saviour, even Christ the Lord.* May 
God forgive me if I was wanting in aught, whether here or 
elsewhere, which it became one of the meanest of His servants 
to think or do ! 

You will infer, my dear S., from the tone of what I have 
above said, that I do not see any sufficient reason for doubting 
that this grotto really marks the place of our Lord's nativity. 
Dr. Robinson objects to this locality, on several grounds, but 
mainly on account of its being a cave, or grotto, which cir- 
cumstance, he thinks, " it is natural to suppose, that the sa- 
cred writer would not have passed over in silence."t With- 
out stopping to enlarge upon the danger of arguing from the 
silence of Holy Scripture, a process which involves the inter- 
preter in inextricable difficulties, and which, like a two-edged 
sword, generally cuts both ways, I think it sufficient to state, 
that the tradition in favor of this spot is too ancient and too 
clear, to be set aside by anything which has yet been urged 
against it. If " a love of simple historic truth" is to lead us 
to reject what has been handed down to us from a period not 
more than fifty years after the death of St. John, and as I 
believe from even an earlier period, then there is nothing of 
the sort in the Holy Land, of which we can be sure; there 
is no locality at which we dare look with any great confidence ; 
there is no question relating to ancient topography, which does 
not become almost entirely a mere matter of opinion between one 
scholar and another ; and the novel and remarkable theories of a 
Clarke or a Fergusson have as much right to be considered prob- 
able as those of any one else, Dr. Robinson himself included. 
I doubt not but that your convictions will agree with mine on 
this point, when I inform you, that even by the showing of 
the learned author of the " Biblical Researches," the tradi- 

* 1 Tim. iii. 16; Heb. vii. 14; Luke, ii. 11. 
t See " Biblical Researches," vol. ii. p. 78, 79. 



THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM. 



365 



tion in respect to the Grotto of the Nativity reaches back at 
least to the middle of the second century, — that Justin Mar- 
tyr speaks of it distinctly, and that Origen and Eusebius 
mention it in terms which leave no question as to the judg- 
ment of the early Christians on this matter, to say nothing 
of the testimony of later writers. But the subject branches 
out too widely for further consideration here : I have, too, 
said sufficient on the general topic of the value of tradition 
in another place : and it little needs that I weary you with a 
repetition of the views there expressed. 

My companions visited several spots which, as I had no 
confidence in their genuineness, so I had no particular desire 
to see them ; and while waiting for them, I strolled out a lit- 
tle way into the town. I was surprised to see the solidity, 
size and apparent comfort of the houses, as well as to notice 
several new buildings in course of erection, and a busy activ- 
ity and industry, which spoke well for the prosperity of the 
inhabitants. An extensive manufacture of objects of curi- 
osity is here carried on, and you can hardly get away — we 
certainly did not — from Bethlehem without buying some 
mother-of-pearl shells, curiously wrought and illustrated with 
quaint devices, a pearl-box or two, some crosses or crucifixes, 
beads, articles made from olive-wood, or the fruit of the dom- 
palm, &c, &c. The population of the town is probably 
about four thousand, and they are all, with hardly an excep- 
tion, Christians ; Dr. Robinson gives them a rather bad char- 
acter, representing them as " a restless race, prone to tumult 
and rebellion, and formerly living in frequent strifes with their 
neighbors of Jerusalem and Hebron." Others — particularly 
Kinglake, in his Eothen — indulge in a great deal of poetic 
enthusiasm in regard to the beauty and liveliness of the girls 
of Bethlehem. I will not pretend to deny but what his 
notions may be well founded ; I can only say, that I was not 
struck with any superior beauty or intelligence in those whom 
it was my privilege to meet. In truth, as you will probably 



366 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



divine, my thoughts were more intent upon the past than the 
present, and as I slowly rode away from the busy town, into 
the more quiet fields and groves of olive, figs, etc., I gave full 
play to the busy imaginings which Bethlehem is so well cal- 
culated to inspire. 

How many ages back does its history extend, and with 
what a multitude of illustrious characters and events has it 
been connected ! It was here that Jacob came, with all his 
wealth, which God had given him, with his wives and chil- 
dren, strangers in the land which was promised to them and 
their seed as a sure possession. It was here that his beloved 
wife, for whom he had served fourteen years, which " seemed 
unto him but a few days for the love he had to her," was 
taken away from him, leaving with the mourning father the 
infant Benjamin as a precious pledge of her last hour: here, 
too, not far from the town, she was buried, and the place of 
her sepulture remains even unto this day. More than four 
hundred years afterwards, " it came to pass that all the city 
was moved" by the arrival of Naomi and the gentle, lovely, 
and most affectionate Ruth. Here was the scene of those 
events, so touchingly related in the book of Ruth ; and here 
did it happen that the poor and widowed Moabitess became 
the wife of the wealthy and honored Boaz, and the great-grand- 
mother of Israel's second and worthiest king. This was the 
city of David the servant of the Lord, whom He u chose and 
took from the sheepfolds ; from following the ewes great with 
young, He brought him to feed Jacob His people and Israel 
His inheritance. And David fed them according to the in- 
tegrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of 
his hands."* A thousand years and more passed away, and 
Bethlehem was visited by one of Ruth's descendants, and one 
more highly favored and honored than any of her sex. The 
blessed Virgin Mary, " being great with child," came from 
Nazareth to her own city, the city of David, to be taxed ac- 

* Ps. lxxviii. 70-72. 



REMINISCENCES OF BETHLEHEM. 



367 



cording to the decree of the Emperor Augustus ; and here 
she dwelt till " the days were accomplished that she should 
be delivered." Here Christ Jesus was born, the Saviour of 
the world, the Desire of all nations, the long-expected Mes- 
siah : here our Lord and our God " took not on Him the na- 
ture of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham,"* 
and was u a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of 
the people Israel."! Not far from this highly honored city, 
abiding in the field, were shepherds keeping watch over their 
flock by night; and perhaps near the very spot where we 
were now passing, that scene of glory occurred, of which the 
Evangelist speaks. Bright were the stars which in their 
courses roll ; brilliant were the heavens as these simple shep- 
herds gazed upon them ; but surpassingly magnificent was 
that glory of the Lord which shone round about them, as 
with fear and trembling they prostrated themselves in adora- 
tion before the throne of God. And what a message of love 
and mercy was that which they heard ! " Fear not, said the 
angel, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the 
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this 
shall be a sign unto you : ye shall find the Babe wrapped in 
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."$ What celestial har- 
mony was that which their ears were permitted to listen to ! 
for "suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the 
heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace, good- will towards men." Ah, with 
what alacrity did they go even unto Bethlehem, to see that 
thing which was come to pass, which the Lord had made 
known unto them ; and when they had seen the Holy Child 
and the virgin mother, as it had been told them by the angel, 
with what joy and confiding faith did they spread abroad the 
good news of God's infinite compassion to our race in sending 
His Son, His only Son, into the world ! Here, too, did the 

* Heb. ii. 16. t Luke, ii. 32. ^ Luke, ii. 10-12. 



368 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



star of Bethlehem shine with a lustre all its own, that star 
which had been the guide for so many days and on so long a 
journey of the illustrious sages of the East: and these wise 
men followed its guidance till it came and stood over where 
the young Child was : with what exceeding great joy did they 
enter the house ; w T ith what unhesitating faith did they wor- 
ship the infant Saviour, and with what gladness did they 
open their treasures, and as kings unto the King of kings did 
they present unto Him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and 
myrrh ! And when they had gone away, rejoicing, unto their 
own homes, alas, what a terrible blow fell upon Bethlehem ! 
God had sent away into Egypt both Joseph and the young 
Child and his mother, when the bloody tyrant Herod, even 
now on the brink of the grave, frustrated in his designs upon 
the life of the Holy Child, sent his ruffian band to slaughter 
the innocent babes of Bethlehem, and of all the coasts thereof. 
It was a deed of horror, unsurpassed by aught of sanguinary 
ferocity in that despot's latter years ; and might well lead the 
Evangelist to adopt the striking figure of the prophet Jere- 
miah ; "in Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation and 
weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her chil- 
dren, and would not be comforted, because they are not."* 

I fear that you will think me needlessly prolix upon this 
topic, and in truth I ought to apologize for the length to 
which this letter has already extended. My excuse must be 
sought in the fact, that such thoughts are. as it were, forced 
upon the mind, while riding or walking in or near Bethlehem, 
and the expression of them cannot well be restrained. I 
have, however, but little more to say which will interest you 
in the present excursion. In company with Mrs. Gobat and 
children, and afterwards with the bishop himself, who had 
walked out to meet his family, we rode slowly onward, meet- 
ing many a pleasant, smiling face, and saluted with courtesy 
by the Christian, but scowled at by the Mohammedan. We 

* Matt. ii. 18; Jer. xxxi. 15. 



TOMB OF RACHEL. 



369 



passed very near the Tomb of Rachel, which is doubtless the 
true site where the beloved wife of the patriarch was buried ; 
but we did not stop to examine it, both because it was get- 
ting late, and because in itself the present edifice offers noth- 
ing specially worthy of notice :* it is like hundreds of tombs 
of Mohammedan saints in various parts of the country ; but 
is picturesquely situate in a retired garden, or field, at a little 
distance from the road. Hurrying onward we came to Deir 
Mar Elyas, the convent of St. Elias, which has a noble posi- 
tion in a gorge of the hills, and from which Jerusalem pre- 
sents a grand appearance. We arrived at the gate of the 
city, just as the sun was setting behind the hills in the west, 
not sorry, at least on my part, to find a place of repose, and 
deeply impressed with what we had been privileged to be- 
hold. 



As I did not have the pleasure of visiting Hebron and its 
vicinity, Mr. Pratt has kindly allowed me to make an extract 
from his Journal in relation to this locality. I am sure you 
will be glad to read what I have copied out : — 

"After leaving the pools of Solomon, the road became 
steeper and harder for the horses, but in no place did I find 
it a very difficult one for the country. At Ed-Dirweh are a 
fountain and ruins, which our guide informed us were those 

* Dr. Robinson, who will not be charged with credulity in regard to tradition- 
ary localities, thinks, that " the tradition which has fixed upon this spot for the 
tomb of Rachel, cannot well be drawn in question." Speaking of the tomb, he 
says, " This is merely an ordinary wely, or tomb of a holy person ; a small, 
square building, with a dome, and within it a tomb in the ordinary Mohammedan 
form ; the whole plastered over with mortar. Of course the building is not an- 
cient. In the 7th century there was here only a pyramid of stones. It is now 
neglected and falling to decay, though pilgrimages are still made to it by the 
Jews. The naked walls are covered with names in several languages, many 
of them in Hebrew.' 1 — !l Biblical Researches" vol. i. p. 322. 

16* 



370 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



of an ancient khan. Several ruined towns or villages were 
very near our road, but I could not learn the names very 
satisfactorily. The hills now begin to be covered with bushes, 
and the fields of the fellahin are more common. On an ele- 
vated position, some distance to the left, is the ruined mosk 
of Neby Yunes, where there are other remains of perhaps an 
older town. This is supposed to be the site of Halhul, men- 
tioned in Joshua, xv. 58, in describing the borders of the 
tribes. 

" In a plain near by, a battle was fought in 1192, between 
Richard Coeur de Lion and Salah ed-Din, in which the for- 
mer cut his way to the sea-side through the forces of the 
Sultan. A mile at least from the great road is Kamel el 
Khalil, or the House of Abraham. Here are remains of a 
sufficiently solid character to warrant the belief that they 
were erected at the same time as those around the Sepulchre, 
or the enclosure of the Haram es-Sherif at Hebron. The 
road now descends through narrow valleys in which the vine 
is growing, while the hill-side is also covered with terraced 
plantations. From the top of a hill, just before commencing 
the general descent toward. Hebron, you catch a glimpse of 
the plain of the land of the Philistines, with the sea beyond. 
The towers about Hebron are occupied by the men who 
watch the vineyards and also the flocks round about. 

11 Passing along over a rudely-paved road between the high 
walls of the vineyards, we came to the outer buildings of 
Hebron at half-past twelve o'clock, having occupied just five 
hours in our trip from Jerusalem. The valley we have just 
descended £ is generally assumed to be the Eshcol (Numb. xiii. 
23) of the Old Testament, whence the spies brought back the 
cluster of grapes to Kadesh ; and apparently not without 
reason. The character of its fruit still corresponds to its an- 
cient celebrity ; pomegranates and figs, as well as apricots, 
quinces, and the like, still grow in abundance.'* 

* Robinson's "Biblical Researches" vol. i. p. 316. 



HEBRON AND ITS VICINITY. 



371 



" The town is situated partly on the sides of the valley and 
partly in the valley itself, being divided into three distinct 
parts. The valley here is quite small, but cultivated with 
great care. The antiquities of Hebron are the pools between 
the hills, and the tomb of Abraham on the opposite side of 
the city. It is the highest part of the city, though only at 
the foot of the hill surrounding the valley. It is guarded 
with great care, and woe be to the Christian or Jew who 
should be detected within its sacred walls. The edifice is 
rather longer than broad, above whose lofty walls rise the 
roofs of the mosk where is the tomb of the patriarch. The 
lower wall bears the same marks of antiquity as those about 
the temple area in Jerusalem. There are eight courses of 
stone, and, what is peculiar, there are sixteen pilasters on 
each side, and eight on each end, with a kind of buttress, 
as we see in the ditch of the tower of Hippicus, at Jerusalem. 
On the top of this the Mohammedans have built up a coarse, 
whitewashed wall, that it may not be commanded from the 
hill above. 

" Hebron is one of the most ancient cities known. It is 
mentioned in Genesis, xiii. 18 : ' Then Abraham removed 
his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which 
is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.' In 
the thirteenth chapter of Numbers it is stated, 1 Now Hebron 
was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.' Its most an- 
cient name appears to have been Kirjath-arba ; ' and Sarah 
died in Kirjath-arba ; the same is Hebron in the land of 
Canaan ; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to 
weep for her' (Gen. xxiii. 2). It was a famous city of the 
patriarchs ; the royal residence of king David ; and figured 
largely in the history of the Crusades. The inhabitants of 
Hebron were sullen, and scowled upon us as we rode about 
its streets. It is now one of the quarantine stations for 
travellers coming from Egypt, and a lazaretto has been built 
on the hill-side to the south of the city. This being the 



372 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



season for Mohammedan pilgrimages, we met great numbers 
of persons going and returning from Jerusalem. They uni- 
formly regarded us with savage looks, while all the Jews 
and Christians whom we saw saluted us warmly. 

" We left Hebron between two and three o'clock, and in 
about half an hour arrived at the Tree of Abraham, a mag- 
nificent oak, certainly one of the finest trees I have ever 
seen. According to Dr. Robinson, the trunk measures twenty- 
two and a half feet around its lower part. It is called in 
Arabic, Sindian. Leaving the tree, we made the best of our 
way over the same road back to the Pools of Solomon, 
which we reached just at nightfall. We met a great number 
of persons during the day, almost all of whom were armed ; 
indeed every peasant at his plough wore at least a sword, or 
carried a war-club. From the Pools our road was direct to 
Bethlehem. We arrived at the gate of the Latin Convent 
about half-past seven in the evening. The principal gate 
was closed, but after some parleying, we were admitted by a 
side door, and assigned a very clean and comfortable room 
in that part of the convent generally occupied by travellers. 
We were served at our evening meal by an Italian monk ; 
and, thanks to the good accommodations allotted us, we 
passed a very comfortable night." 



LETTER XVIII. 



©ije 21eatr .Sea anti t&e Jfortxan, 

Early Start for the Dead Sea —Path or Road over the Mount of Olives.— Bethany.— Its Pres- 
ent Position.— Traditionary Sites.— Our Saviour's Divine Compassion.— Fountain of the 
Apostles.— Contrast.— Gloomy and Cheerless Road.— Character of the Scenery— Road by 
Neby Musa— Our Sheikh and his Men— Picturesque Costume.— Parable of the Good 
Samaritan.— Truthfulness and Force.— First View of the Dead Sea— Reputed Tomb of the 
Prophet Moses.— Sanctity in the Eyes of the Mohammedans.— An Incident.— Approach to 
the Dead Sea.— Saltish Plain.— The Water— Took a Bath in it— Character of the Water.— 
The Plain or Valley of the Jordan.— Banks .of the River.— Bathing-place of the Pilgrims- 
Strong Current —A Bath in the Jordan.— Ride to Jericho.— Wretched Village— Ain es-Sul- 
tan.— Lovely Fountain.— Return to Jerusalem.— The English Church and Services.— Prep- 
arations for Departure. 

Jerusalem, April 17th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

If I have not wearied you beyond what you can pardon, 
I hope that you will give me your attention still further to 
another and considerably longer excursion than that to Beth- 
lehem and its vicinity. I had hoped to have been able to 
include in my letter dated yesterday an account of a visit to 
the Dead Sea, the Jordan, Jericho, etc., but so many busy 
thoughts were stirred up in my mind by being actually in 
the city of David, where our Lord and Saviour was born, 
aud so attractive were the themes suggested by these sacred 
localities, that I was induced to dwell more at length than 
was perhaps desirable upon such things as must touch every 
Christian heart : there was no alternative, therefore, but for 
me to throw myself upon your indulgence, as I now do, and 
to beg that you will go with me, in spirit at least, to regions 
hardly less interesting than those around Bethlehem. 



374 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Following the usual and almost necessary custom in this 
climate, we made a very early start for the Dead Sea; and 
as we were compelled to encamp out one night, at the least 
we provided ourselves with tent, canteens, and the multifa- 
rious apparatus of the cook's establishment ; all these, how- 
ever, were sent on under charge of the maitre de cuisine. 
and two Bedawin, as guards or attendants, to wait our ar- 
rival at Jericho ; we, ourselves, taking a different and more 
circuitous route to the same place. Passing out of St. 
Stephen's or rather St. Mary's gate, we descended the steep 
hill into the valley of Jehoshaphat, crossed the dry bed of 
the Kedron, and winding round the southern slope of the 
Mount of Olives, with the little village of Siloam on our 
right and the higher portion of Olivet on our left, took the 
road to Bethany. 

I have before spoken of the view from the Mount of Olives, 
as decidedly the finest which can anywhere be obtained : it 
needs not, therefore, that I dwell upon it here again, though 
I assure you that we could not resist the desire to halt on the 
mountain-side, and gaze long and earnestly at the city of the 
Great King. May it please God soon to arise and have 
mercy upon her ! It took us about an hour to reach the in- 
teresting localities in and about Bethany, which is, as you rec- 
ollect, fifteen furlongs, or nearly two miles, distant from Jeru- 
salem. The village is very small, and notwithstanding the 
many olive, pomegranate, almond and fig trees scattered 
around, and the apparently not bad soil, which is under mis- 
erable cultivation, it bears evident marks of poverty and des- 
titution ; and were it not that the traditionary sites of the 
Scripture events, relating to Lazarus and his sisters, are still 
shown, and still visited with unhesitating faith, by large 
numbers of pilgrims every year, it seems not unlikely that it, 
like Bethphage, might be lost entirely, and not even a trace 
of its existence remain. But we trust that this will never be 
the case ; for, whatever we may think of the particular spots 



THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS. 



375 



pointed out as Lazarus's tomb, the houses of Martha and 
Mary, and of Simon the Leper, to say nothing of other places, 
it must ever be profitable to the Christian to visit a town so 
noted in our Lord's life and ministry, and so suggestive of 
devout reflections upon His power, wisdom and goodness. I 
am not disposed to place any very great reliance upon the 
tradition relative to the Sepulchre of Lazarus, which is here 
shown ; it may be false, and yet it is possible that it may be 
well founded. I did not, on the present occasion, having a 
longer excursion before me, stop and go down into the tomb, 
which is commonly done by travellers ; I did not care par- 
ticularly to search out the dwelling-place of Mary Magdalen, 
or of the sisters whom Jesus loved ; nor was I very much in- 
terested in several of the reputed sacred spots in this ancient 
village : but, gazing with feelings of no common concern upon 
the few poor and wretched inhabitants who now dwell amid 
its ruins, and looking abroad over the picturesque scenery in 
the direction of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, I did strive to 
comprehend more clearly, and to remember more devoutly, 
what has been recorded in Holy Scripture, for our learning. 
O how touchingly true to nature appeared the narrative of 
the Beloved Disciple, in the eleventh chapter of his Gospel! 
and with what force and power did the words of our Lord 
seem to come home to me, as they have done, to myriads of 
mourners in all ages, "I am the resurrection and the life: he 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : 
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." 
Surely, it can never be, that we forget the love and compas- 
sion of Him who wept for the sorrows of His friends, and 
mourned with the bereaved sisters of Lazarus ; surely we 
can never doubt the depth and height, the length and breadth 
of that divine compassion which He ever manifested, and 
never more fully and wonderfully than when He stood before 
the sepulchre and " cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come 



376 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and 
foot with grave-clothes." 

" Such the tones of love, which break 

The stillness of that hour, 
Quelling th' embittered spirit's strife — 
" The Resurrection and the Life 

Am I : believe, and die no more." 

Unchanged that voice — and though not yet 

The dead sit up and speak, 
Answering its call ; we gladlier rest 
Our darlings on earth's quiet breast, 

And our hearts feel they must not break. 

Far better they should sleep awhile 

Within the church's shade, 
Nor wake, until new heaven, new earth, 
Meet for their new immortal birth, 

For their abiding place be made, 

Than wander back to life, and lean 

On our frail love once more. 
'Tis sweet, as year by year we lose 
Friends out of sight, to muse 

How grows in Paradise our store."* 

It was not without hope and comfort that we turned away 
from Bethany, and resumed our onward progress towards the 
east. As we were descending a steep hill into one of the 
ravines through which the Jericho road passes, in a part of its 
way, we came to a fountain of water, termed by tradition, 
the "Fountain of the Apostles," because, as it is said, they were 
here accustomed to refresh themselves as they journeyed to 
and fro between Jerusalem and Jericho. " And indeed," as 
says Maundrell, " it is a thing very probable, and no more than 
I believe is done by all that travel this way, the fountain 
being close by the roadside, and very inviting to the thirsty 
passenger." Some Arabs were there, taking copious draughts 
of the water themselves, and pouring out for their camels and 

* Keble's "Christian Year" p. 294. 



THE ROAD TOWARDS THE JORDAN. 377 

horses. They looked at us with curiosity, but said not a 
word, either good or bad ; a remarkable change from former 
days, when it was really unsafe to venture far away from the 
Holy City in this direction, and when Christian travellers re- 
sorted to disguises in order to pass this road and visit the val- 
ley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. The unevenness of the 
road prevented our proceeding at a rapid rate, and I believe 
made me notice more carefully than I should have done other- 
wise, the force of contrast. Near Jerusalem and all around the 
Mount of Olives, the hill- sides are terraced up for the purposes 
of cultivation, and though one does not see the fruitfulness 
and beauty which might be expected or of which the country 
is capable, still, there are evidences of life and industry, to 
some extent, in the gardens and fields under culture ; but 
when the traveller passes over or around the Mount of Olives, 
descends its eastern or southern slope, and finds himself 
among the hills and deep ravines beyond, he cannot but be 
struck with the contrast presented by what is before him. 
Here and there is a small patch of ground on the hill-side, or 
in a deep valley, which has some thin and scanty herbage 
upon it, or some grain springing up with promise of future 
harvest; but in general, and almost entirely, on every side, 
there is one dreary, desolate, barren look ; the rugged preci- 
pices, the stony road, the rocky beds of the mountain torrents, 
the very few and dead-looking trees now and then visible, 
the white and almost glaring clayey soil and dust, and such 
like features of the scene, are different from everything which 
I have ever seen elsewhere in the Holy Land ; and the change 
from even partial cultivation of the ground, and from the life 
and beauty of many spots about Jerusalem to such an entire 
cutting off from the world, such unfruitful and sterile regions, 
such unmitigated solitude, is calculated to produce, as it cer- 
tainly has upon my mind, an ineffaceable impression.* At 

* " From this place (the Fountain of the Apostles), you proceed in an intricate 
way amongst hills and valleys interchangeably, all of a very barren aspect at 



378 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

one period, I cannot doubt that these hills and mountain-sides 
yielded fruits of increase, and the valleys stood so thick with 
corn, that they laughed and sang for joy ; and it would ap- 
pear that all around the Holy City, and for some distance to 
the east of it, the land was fertile and productive to a high 
degree ; but it is not so now ; it is the very reverse. Most true 
and forceful appeared to me now the words of the Psalmist, 
and I thought of them and repeated them more than once 
while traversing the road from Jerusalem toward the Dead 
Sea : 

" He turneth rivers into a wilderness, 
And the water-springs into dry ground ; 
A fruitful land into barrenness, 
For the wickedness of them that dwell therein."* 

Yes, for the wickedness of the people of God has sent lean- 
ness and barrenness upon the face of all this region : may we 
not take warning by it, and believe and know that as He 
has done here, He may and will do again, where the re- 
bellion and disobedience of the people provoke His anger, and 
bring down His judgments upon them ! 

At eight o'clock, we left the road which goes on direct to 
Jericho ; and branching off to the right, we took the route to 
the Dead Sea, by way of Neby Musa. It was here that we 
came upon the Bedawy encampment, of which our sheikh is 
the head, — I say "our sheikh," forgetting that this is the first 

present, but discovering evident signs of the labor of the husbandman in an- 
cient times. After some hours' travel in this sort of road, you arrive at the 
mountainous desert, into which our blessed Saviour was led by the Spirit, to be 
tempted by the devil. A most miserable, dry, barren place it is, consisting of 
high, rocky mountains, so torn and disordered, as if the earth had here suffered 
some great convulsion, in which its very bowels had been turned outwards. On 
the left hand, looking down into a deep valley, as we passed along, we saw 
some ruins of small cells and cottages, which they told us were formerly the 
habitations of hermits, retiring thither for penance and mortification ; and cer- 
tainly there could not be found in the whole earth a more comfortless and 
abandoned place for that purpose."— Maundrell's "Journey" &c, March 29th. 
* Ps. cvii. 33, 34 ; see also Micah, vii. 13. 



OUR SHIEKH AND HIS MARE. 



379 



time I have mentioned the very respectable person so named, 
and the noble Arab mare which he bestrides as only a Beda- 
\vy can. Let me remedy this oversight without delay- 
You may recollect, that this part of Palestine is usually 
counted unsafe to travel in without an escort ; and the Beda- 
win find it to their advantage to keep up this idea, as it 
brings them into notice, as guards or attendants, on the 
principle, I suppose, " set a thief to catch a thief," since they 
themselves are the very enemies against whom they offer to 
protect you, if you pay them a good round sum. For some 
time, we doubted whether we would not go at our own risk, 
deeming ourselves — such is the vain self-confidence of our 
countrymen — abundantly able to protect ourselves, and quite 
a match for five times our number, provided we were not 
taken by surprise; but more prudent counsels prevailed. Our 
dragoman, who is a keen fellow, and makes money out of both 
his master and the Arabs at the same time, was specially ur- 
gent that we should have some guards and this particular 
sheikh ; and on reflection, as it was possible certainly that they 
might be needed, we concluded to take them for this purpose. 
Accordingly, two savage-looking fellows, armed with long 
Arab muskets, having flint locks, and capable of going off 
about one time in five, joined us just outside Jerusalem ; and 
when we came to the encampment just now alluded to, our 
friend the sheikh, mounted on a beautiful animal, all at once 
dashed out, with the speed of the wind, and saluting us with 
oriental courtesy, took the lead for the rest of the journey. I 
assure you that he was a picturesque and striking object, and 
attracted a good deal of our attention. His mare was of the 
best breed, and full of life and fire, and yet docile and gentle as 
a lamb. He himself, clad in the usual Bedawy dress, had on a 
brilliant crimson mantle, and a silken covering for the head ? 
fastened and arranged in that peculiar manner which half 
covers the face, and permits you to see underneath only the 
glittering black eye, casting forth its quick, sparkling glances, 



380 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and the bronzed, haggard eheek and expressive mouth of the 
wild son of the desert. He seemed to delight in setting forth 
the excellences of his mare ; and as his crimson mantle floated 
in the wind, when he rushed by at lightning speed, or lay in 
graceful folds around him, as instantaneously he stopped his 
milk-white steed by a slight touch of the bridle, he was cer- 
tainly an object worth looking at, and helped very much to 
relieve the tediousness and dreariness of the way. I may as 
well mention here, while it occurs to me, that so far as I could 
judge from appearances, we had no need whatever of the shiekh 
and his men ; but I will not be too sure, that if we had re- 
jected his services, he would not have given us serious trouble, 
if not in person, yet by means of some of his brethren lurking 
about. Perhaps, in our case, discretion was the better part 
of valor. 

I fear that the few sentences above, in which I have tried 
to tell you something of the character of the road from Jeru- 
salem towards Jericho, will convey but a very inadequate 
idea of it ; and this is another of the frequent occasions when 
I have to deplore my inability to describe things as they really 
are. I would that I could give you a picture of the steep 
hills and deep ravines ; the rocky heights and summits of the 
mountains on every hand, and the dry sandy beds of the nar- 
row wadys ; the tortuous road, at one time skirting the pre- 
cipitous sides of the hills, with frightful steeps only a step 
distant, at another winding over the bare, stony summit, and 
at another, down into the lowest deep of some desolate valley ; 
the hot dusty path, without life, and still and silent as the 
grave ; — I would I could paint you a picture such as this 
would make, and you might catch something more of an 
idea of this region of wonderful desolateness and sadness ; 
but I cannot, and I must throw myself upon your indulgence, 
and beg you to imagine what it must be, and is, in reality. 

You will readily believe me, that our Saviour's touching and 
truthful parable, which has the scene laid on this very road, lost 



PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 



381 



none of its force, by remembering that He had often traversed 
this very path, and that His words are no less faithful to the 
natural features of the country, than impressive and beautiful for 
the truth which they enforce. A certain lawyer, we are told, on 
one occasion stood up for the purpose of making trial of our 
Lord's knowledge and principles, hoping, it would appear, that 
he might in some way entangle Him and take hold of His 
words before the people, to His injury : our Saviour's answer 
gave him no such opportunity, for the very passage of Scrip- 
ture which the lawyer was forced to recite, and which was 
read every day, morning and evening, in the synagogues, fur- 
nished of itself a full and complete reply to his question ; 
" Thou hast answered right : this do and thou shalt live." 
But he, not satisfied with his ill success, and imagining that 
he could involve our Saviour in a difficulty by asking a ques- 
tion which touched upon tender points at that day, " said unto 
Jesus, And who is my neighbor ?" Mark well the reply of our 
Lord : He enters into no definition of the term neighbor, to 
which great objections would at once have been made : He 
does not give a bare statement of the relationship existing be- 
tween all the human family, which would probably have made 
little impression ; nay, He adopts the more direct, simple and 
effective course, of teaching by example, and by means of a 
parable conveys a lesson of truth which no man that heard 
it could ever forget. A certain man of our nation, He says, 
had occasion to journey by the road from Jerusalem to Jeri- 
cho, a road which, as you know, is very dangerous, and very 
much infested with robbers. As he was passing along through 
the desert and lonely region, he was set upon by a band of 
thieves, and unable . to protect himself, he was plundered of 
his substance, stripped of his garments, wounded in a very 
dreadful and dangerous manner, and, bound with cords, and 
half dead with the injuries he had received, was deserted and 
left to his fate. Not long after, it happened that a certain 
priest came near the place ; he was going down from the 



382 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Holy City to that well-known residence of the priesthood, 
Jericho, and in accordance with his sacred office, ought to 
have been glad of the opportunity of doing good in a case 
like this ; but so far from acting in the manner which it is 
reasonable to suppose that he would have acted to a poor 
brother in distress, he saw him lying at some little distance 
off, and without stopping to make any inquiry, turned away, 
crossed to the other side of the road, and went on his way. 
The poor Jew might shift for himself, so far as the priest was 
concerned. In like manner, another resident of the priestly 
city, chanced to come along a short time afterwards ; he was 
a Levite, and knew well what was the duty incumbent on 
him in respect to his office and character. When he arrived 
at the place where the half-dead and unhappy Jew lay, he 
stopped a moment or two to look at him ; his heart was 
touched with, it may be, one spark of compassion ; and for 
an instant he thought of affording relief to the suffering man ; 
but his good resolutions faded away almost as soon as made ; 
he, too, crossed the road, passed quickly on his way, and did 
nothing for the relief of a brother in distress. Thus the un- 
happy man appeared to be abandoned to death and misery, 
since his own countrymen refused to give him assistance ; 
but, by-and-by a citizen of that nation which is at enmity 
with us Jews, and with whom we have no dealings or friendly 
intercourse, came to the place where the wounded man lay : 
he stopped, dismounted, and hastened to the relief of the 
wounded fellow-creature lying before him. Though he was 
a Jew, and though on that account the Good Samaritan might 
have scrupled, and might have found a plausible excuse, and 
might have left him to his fate, yet he did no such thing ; he 
was moved with compassion toward him ; he thought not of 
the trouble, or expense, or risk, or of anything of the sort : 
he went to him ; he bound up his wounds in the best manner 
he was able ; he poured in a mixture of oil and wine ; he set 
him on his own beast ; he manifested the most tender care ; 



NEBY MUSA OF THE ARABS. 



383 



he carried him to an inn ; and not content with all this, both 
took care of him and gave the host money to discharge the 
expenses of his cure and restoration. Now, says our Lord, 
with these facts before you, and with these instances of what 
men have done under the circumstances just narrated, let me 
ask you, which of these three persons, the priest, the Levite, 
or the Samaritan, dost thou think was the neighbor of this 
poor man that fell among the thieves ? He could not but an- 
swer as he did ; undoubtedly, it was he that showed mercy 
and compassion upon the man. " Then," said Jesus unto 
him, " go, and do thou likewise ;" and even though it be a 
Samaritan, an enemy whom thou hatest or who hates thee, deal 
mercifully and tenderly with him, and no longer confine thy 
sympathies or thy kindnesses to thy friends, or relatives, or 
countrymen, or fellow-believers in the Law and the Prophets. 
The lesson was perfect, and conveyed in a manner which He 
only knew how to do. The lawyer, we may well believe, 
went away a humbled, if not a better man. 

But I must hasten on : at ten o'clock, from the top of one 
of the hills over which the road winds, we caught sight, for 
the first time, of the Dead Sea. Apparently it was very 
near, and in a direct line the journey would not have been 
long ; but so deceptive are all calculations of distance in a 
region like this, where the road bends and turns with in- 
numerable windings, and so slow is necessarily the progress 
of the traveller, that we were still nearly three hours distant 
from the sea ; a circumstance which we had occasion to feel 
very acutely, while making our toilsome progress under a 
scorching mid-day sun. The road which we had chosen, 
passed by the far-famed tomb of the great lawgiver of Israel : 
it is a large and very sacred edifice, surrounded by high, solid 
walls, and adorned with a minaret, and is entitled by the 
Arabs, Neby Musa ; here, as they say, in contradiction to 
the Scripture, the prophet Moses was buried. It is certainly 
much more convenient to have his tomb on this side of the 



384 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Jordan, and for the purposes of the Mohammedan pilgrims, 
it answers just as well as if it were in its true place, which, 
though he died and was buried in the land of Moab, over 
against Beth-peor, " no man knoweth of unto this day." 
We stopped a few minutes at Neby Musa, principally to get 
a drink of water, which is reputed here to be full of virtues. 
Without reflecting at the time, and seeing no one about the 
place, I jumped off my horse, and, the door or gate being 
wide open, was just going to enter the sacred precincts, when 
the dragoman caught me by the arm in a sort of terror at 
the risk I was running, assuring me that it was almost death 
for a Christian to dare to cross the threshold. A moment 
after, a gaunt, black-eyed, fanatical-looking fellow came out, 
and glancing at me with no friendly greeting, gave me to" 
understand how readily he would have defended the sanctu- 
ary of which he was the keeper, had he caught a " Christian 
dog" anywhere within the walls. As to the water, it may 
have many occult virtues, but for the purpose of drinking it 
was detestable, and I had no wish to dispute the possession 
of it with the Mohammedan owners. 

About noon we descended the last of the range of hills over 
which the road passes, and riding over the saltish plain near 
the sea, we reached the northerly end of it in about half an 
hour. Independently of the many recollections connected 
with the eventful history of the cities of the plain, and the 
awful punishment sent upon them, of which this lake is a 
perpetual witness, the sea itself is very remarkable. It is 
situate in a deep valley, four thousand feet below the Holy 
City,* surrounded by mountains and sterile, desolate hills, 

* " We found the difference of level, in other words, the depression of the sur- 
face of the Dead Sea, below that of the Mediterranean, to be a little over 1300 
feet. The height of Jerusalem above the former Sea, is very nearly three times 
that of this difference of level ; while, at the same time, it is almost the exact 
multiple of the depth of that sea, of the height of its banks, and of the de- 
pression of its surface."— Lieutenant Lynch's " Expedition to the Dead Sea" 
p. 440. 



THE DEAD SEA. 



385 



without a living creature in its waters, and answering most 
truly to its name, the Dead Sea. At the time of our visit, 




1? 



386 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

the water appeared to be of a greenish blue color, and its 
surface mostly still, yet at times slightly rippled by a light 
southerly breeze. Here and there were a few clouds, which 
afforded us a little relief from the intense glare and heat of 
the sun ; but there were no trees, no shrubbery, nothing, in 
short, to ward off the rays of the sun, and we had no alterna- 
tive but to endure it the best way we could. The map 
which I have subjoined from Lieutenant Lynch's interesting 
" Expedition to the Dead Sea," (from April 18th to May 
10th, 1848, they were on the sea,) will aid you very much 
in forming a clear idea of the geographical position, size, and 
shape of this sea ; and as it is undoubtedly accurate in all 
its details, you may rely upon it with entire confidence. Ac- 
cording to the scale of miles, the sea is between thirty-five 
and forty miles in length, and from six to eight miles in 
breadth. For the details I cannot but beg you to refer to 
the large and interesting volume published by the accom- 
plished commander of the U. S. Expedition to the Dead 
Sea, who, though I do not know him personally, I know 
nevertheless is an honor to the service and the country to 
which he belongs, and is always remembered and spoken of 
in Syria in the highest terms of respect and esteem. 

Crossing the " Saltish Plain," marked on the map, we rode 
along the water's edge, and occasionally had some drops of it 
splashed on our clothes; it was curious to notice how it dis- 
colored them, and how very difficult it was to get the stain 
out or remove the traces of the acrid liquid. It was also in- 
teresting to mark the intense efforts put forth by the poor, 
suffering and dreadfully heated and thirsty horses, in order to 
quench their thirst in the water of the Dead Sea. When 
they came near the water and beheld it spread out so invi- 
tingly before them, they were very eager to get near and into 
it ; they dashed their mouths into the liquid brine, hoping to 
imbibe the cooling and refreshing draught ; and for a moment 
they seemed to have swallowed, as it were unconsciously, the 



DENSITY AND BITTERNESS OF THE WATER. 387 

pungent water ; but it was only for a moment ; disappointed 
and angry, they threw back their heads, and. more dispirited 
than ever, pursued the way which their masters wished. As 
you may see by the map, there is something like a small island 
or peninsula marked, before one reaches the mouth of the 
Jordan ; it is a collection of sand and stones, mingled with 
drift wood, brush, &c, encrusted with salt, probably brought 
down by the river and gradually here collected ; it is about 
two hundred and fifty feet from the shore. We here un- 
dressed and determined to take a bath. I had often heard 
that persons would not sink, so dense is the water of the 
Dead Sea j# but I had thought that there might be a little 
exaggeration in the statement, and I was curious to test 
the matter in my own person. It was literally and exactly 
true, all that I had heard : I went into the water ; I lay down 
on my back flat and powerless ; I used not an effort to keep 
myself from sinking ; and there I lay, about two thirds under 
water, and buoyed up in a manner wholly unlike any other 
case I had ever met with. In truth I could not sink except 
by forcing myself under the water, and in a moment I would 
rise rapidly up again and lay there, a floating object of life on 
the surface of a sea containing naught that lives. Two or 
three times I got some drops of the water on my lips, and I can 
assure you I never felt anything so bitter, nauseous and 
stinging as this was ;f and afterwards when I came out, my 
body was covered with a liquid which left a disagreeable, 
greasy feeling, impossible to get rid of by the aid of towels 
alone. 

* " Tried the relative density of the water of this sea and of the Atlantic, the 
latter from 25° N. Lat. and 52° W. Lon. : distilled water being as 1. The water 
of the Atlantic was 1.02, and of this sea 1.13. The last dissolved 1-11, the 
water of the Atlantic 1-6, and distilled water 5-17 of its weight of salt. The 
salt used was a little damp. On leaving the Jordan, we carefully noted the 
draught of the boats ; with the same loads they drew one inch less water when 
afloat upon this sea than in the river." — Lieutenant Lynch's " Expedition to 
the Dead Sea" p. 377. 

t Dr. Marcet's Analysis of the water of the Dead Sea, is as follows : the 



388 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



After a lunch and some little time spent in gathering a 
few mementoes of the Dead Sea, such as some pebbles, pieces 
of the black sulphureous stone which here abounds, and filling 
a tin case with the water, we mounted again and rode onward. 
For some distance we followed the water's edge, proceeding 
toward the mouth of the Jordan, and riding over the saltish 
plain above spoken of; and about three quarters of a mile 
east of us we could distinctly perceive the volume of water 
which the river constantly brings down, and which is so dif- 
ferent in color, quality, &c. from that of the sea. We had 
not forgotten the many deeply interesting points which this 
sea and its history may well fasten in the memory ; we had 
mused over what we saw, and we could not forget that once 
this plain and valley, where now is all desolation and where 
there is no life, were fertile and beautiful like " the garden of 
the Lord."* The Scripture account we had read over with 
a deep and solemn sense of its awful importance, and with a 
realization that there are limits to the Divine mercy ; there 
are times and seasons when the cup of iniquity becomes full, 
and wrath and vengeance go out to fulfil their mission ; and 
those dread warnings of the man of God seemed to acquire 
new force as we looked upon the very scene to which they 
were applied : — " The whole land thereof is brimstone and 
salt, and burning, that is not sown nor beareth, nor any 

specific gravity he determines to be as 1211 to 1000 of fresh water, and the sub- 
stances held in solution by it, to be to 100 grains — 

Muriate of Lime, 3.920 

" Magnesia, . . . 10.246 

" Soda, 10.360 

Sulphate of Lime, 0.054 

24.580 

Compare the note from Lieut. Lynch, on p. 387. 

* "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was 
well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even 
as the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou cmest unto Zoar."— 
Gen. xiii. 10 



THE VALLEY OF THE JORDAN. 



389 



grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Go- 
morrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in 
His anger, and in His wrath."* "We had read the statements 
and opinions of travellers, and beheld much to confirm, much 
to refute their various speculations; and at the time, we in- 
dulged in some of our own, which are not — me judice — worth 
recording. But, in truth, as a pious traveller a few years ago 
has well said, "notwithstanding all our examinations, and 
all our speculations, a veil of awful mystery overhangs this 
dread locality. It is at once a grave and a monument ; a grave 
in which slumbers the thousands whose daring ungodliness 
cut them off from mercy — a grave whose chambers lead down 
to hell. It is a monument, on every hair-breadth of which is 
recorded in characters of fiery desolation, the irresistible ter- 
rors of a just — a tempted — an avenging God. How astound- 
ing will be the blast of the archangel's trump, when clanging 
amidst those bleak and barren rocks, and borne like a spell 
over the surface of those stagnant waters ! when the resur- 
rection power of the Lord Jesus shall call up into second life 
for final judgment, those objects of Almighty wrath, and lay 
bare the gloomy secret at which we surmise and shudder !"t 
At two o'clock we left the Dead Sea, and rode as briskly as 
we could over the salt-encrusted and sandy plain, intersected 
with slimy bogs. On either hand of the valley of the Jordan, 
were ranges of high hills or mountains ; the one a continuation 
of the mountains of Moab, which rise aloft on the east of the sea, 
and the other a part of the cluster or collection of hills which 
bound the valley on the west, and stretch away northward as 
far as the eye can reach. Our point of destination was the usual 
bathing-place of the pilgrims who come every year in great num- 
bers and from all countries, to wash themselves in that river 
where our Lord was baptized by John the Baptist. Two or 
three times we came near the banks of the Jordan, which are 

* Deut. xxix, 23. 

f Rev. George Fisk's " Memorial of the Holy Land" p. 311. 



390 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



not easily seen, on account of the thick bushes which grow 
there ; and were witness to the fact of fts very tortuous 
course and its rapid stream.* Maundrell says that in his 
time the bank of the Jordan was set thick with trees, such 
as tamarisks, willows, oleanders, &c, and that in this thicket 
it was reported that wild beasts of several sorts used to har- 
bor themselves, " whose being washed out of the covert by 
the overflowings of the river, gave rise to that allusion, £ He 
shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan.' " I 
could readily imagine that even now the same thing might be 
true, though it is stated by good authorities that lions have 
always been very rare in Syria ; for so impervious is the thick 
shrubbery, and so abundant the foliage, that wild animals 
might well find coverts here, and spring out upon the travel- 
ler without a moment's warning. I believe, however, that 
the only dangerous creature to be feared in these spots now, 
is the wild and lawless Bedawy, who, if he have committed 
murder, has but to cross the Jordan and join his brethren on 
the east side of the river, the government being too weak and 
contemptible to search out the offender and bring him to jus- 
tice. We did not meet with any actual, tangible danger 
while traversing the valley of the Jordan ; yet our sheikh ap- 
peared to be more than ordinarily active, and on the look-out. 

* Just a year ago, Lieutenant Lynch was on the Jordan ; under date of 
April 18th, 1848, he made a report to the Secretary of the Navy, from which I 
beg to extract a few sentences : " To my consternation, I soon found that the 
Jordan was interrupted in its course by frequent and most fearful rapids. . . . 
We had to clear out old channels, to make new ones, and sometimes, placing 
our sole trust in Providence, plunged with headlong velocity down appalling 

descents The great secret of the depression between Lake Tiberias 

and the Dead Sea, is solved by the tortuous course of the Jordan. In a space 
of sixty miles of latitude and four or five miles of longitude, the Jordan trav- 
erses at least 200 miles. The river is in the latter stage of a freshet— a few 
weeks earlier or later, and passage would have been impracticable. As it is, we 
have plunged down twenty-seven threatening rapids, besides a great many of 

lesser magnitude The course of the river is more sinuous than even that 

of the Mississippi." — Lieutenant Lynch's " Expedition to the Dead Sea" p. 264, 
265. 



SIZE OF THE JORDAN. 39l 

as we were riding forward, especially when we came near or 
were passing bunches of tall grass and reeds, or were skirting 
the thickets by the river's side ; possibly it may have been 
that without his aid we should have been fired upon, and 
even worse. Let us be thankful that we were preserved 
from any trial of the kind. 

In the course of an hour and a half, we reached the place 
marked out by tradition as the locality where John baptized 
the Holy and Blessed Saviour, who ever deemed it right to 
" fulfill all righteousness." I was somewhat surprised to find 
the Jordan so much narrower than I had supposed ; I had 
expected to see a broad stream, not unlike many of the rivers 
of less note in our own country ; but it is not so : between 
the steep and often high banks, where the river flows during 
most of the year, it appeared to me not to be more than 
sixty or seventy feet wide. It is but a guess and judging by 
the eye, for I had no means of measurement with me, and 
therefore is not to be relied upon at all for any accuracy ; all 
that I would affirm positively is that the Jordan is by no 
means a wide river, and is narrower between its banks than 
many of the creeks in our part of the worlds The current 
is extremely rapid in this part of its course, running I should 
think from three to four miles an hour ; and so strong is it 
that very rarely can the most muscular swimmer make head 
against it : instances happen once in a while of persons being 
carried away and drowned in consequence of having braved 
it too far. I think myself a pretty good swimmer, and in 
ordinary cases would mind nothing launching forth to reach 
a point a mile or more distant ; but when I stood and looked 
upon the Jordan for a while and tried to estimate the force 
of that powerful current, I knew that it would not be safe 
for me to venture out beyond my depth ; and I did not. 

* Dr. Wilson gives the width of the Jordan at this place as exactly forty- 
yards ; he estimates the current as at least three miles per hour. — " Lands of 
the Bible" vol. ii. p. 17. 



392 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



The color of the water is nearly that of gray slate ; and the 
river appears to gather much sediment in its course from the 
north ; but I cannot express to you how sweet and delightful 
the water is. Notwithstanding its turbidness and mixture of 
earthy matter, coming from the Dead Sea only two hours 
before, the contrast was very striking, for that is nauseous 
and pungent to a degree inexpressible ; this is delicious and 
refreshing to the taste, almost as much so as the water of 
the Nile. Of course, I could not leave the Jordan without 
bathing in its most honored stream : my companion declined 
going in, fearing the chilliness of the water ; so all alone, in 
a woody and retired spot, protected by the shade of the syca- 
more, the ilex, and the willow, I disrobed and advanced 
into the river : the bank is very declivitous, and in a few 
moments I was nearly out of my depth. I found it difficult 
to stand against the current which rushed by me with con- 
siderable force, and the water was decidedly cooler than that 
of the Dead Sea. You will believe me that the associations 
of the place and the time were not without effect upon my 
mind : from the depth of my soul I blessed God for the 
privileges of His covenant sealed to us by the holy sacra- 
ment of baptism ; and I seemed to myself to be looking 
upon the solemn and touching scene of our Lord's baptism 
by His messenger whom He sent to prepare the way before 
Him. Earnestly did I supplicate that God of His mercy 
would wash and purify my soul, body and spirit, by the 
blood of Christ Jesus our Lord ; and with the deepest rever- 
ence, remembering whom I was worshipping, I bowed my 
head beneath the waters of the Jordan three times, and pro- 
nounced each time the name of the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, the Triune God of our salvation. 

We lingered in this lovely and secluded spot as long as 
we dared ; penetrating into the dense thicket, I tried hard to 
find me a good stick for a pilgrim's staff ; but met with 
very indifferent success : filling a bottle or two with the 



PLAIN NEAR JERICHO. 



393 



water, and remounting our horses, we bade adieu to this 
deeply interesting place. Our faces were turned towards Jeri- 
cho, a city belonging to that broad plain, or 

" neighboring land, whose palmy shore 
The silver Jordan laves ;" 

and as, late in the afternoon, we spurred our horses onward 
to reach the place of encampment, we were fully alive to the 
beauty of this region as it once was in the days of its glory. 
Even now, desolate and degraded, it wears some marks of 
its former excellence, but they are few indeed, and only serve 
to remind one very painfully of what it was and what it 
might be again. May that day soon come when it will 
please God to have mercy upon the chosen land, and the 
people to whom He promised it as a perpetual possession ! 
While we were riding onward, we saw only a little way off, 
several of that beautiful animal, the gazelle, and for a few 
minutes we gave chase, hoping to get a shot at one ; but 
they were too fleet for us and were ere long out of sight ; 
we saw, too, numbers of quails and some other birds, but 
did not shoot at any of them. As we approached Jericho, 
we saw a large old castle near by, at present in ruins, but 
evidently at one time of great strength and importance. I 
could get no information worth having as to what it was or 
when it was built; for the Arabs are very stupid and care- 
less in respect to all the questions which interest strangers 
so much ;* and in general their stories are very little worth. 
If they hear any one guess or imagine that an old ruin be- 
longs to a particular town, or some old tower might bear 
such and such a name, their usual plan is to repeat all this 
for fact to the next party they meet, and by repeating it a 
number of times they get to believe it themselves and 

* Dr. Robinson (vol. ii. p. 295) attributes the castle to the Saracenic times, 
about the twelfth century, when all this region was renowned for its high state 
of cultivation and its fields, gardens, fruits, &c. 

17* 



394 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



strenuously to maintain it against all objectors. I am quite 
convinced that the common Arab stories are worthless on 
any question of importance ; # and few travellers can venture 
to trust them at all. But this by the way. 

About half-past six, we came to the few scattered huts, 
which, to my astonishment, I was told was all that remained 
to mark the site of the City of Palm Trees.t A few miser- 
able fellahm were lounging under the shade of some trees, and 
smoking the shibuk and shisheh, as is their custom : and here 
and there were some rude dwellings of the inhabitants, having 
nothing to indicate the possession of aught but the simplest 
and commonest means of life : and this was all.$ What a 
contrast, when we looked back upon its past history, and thought 
of its strength, power, magnificence, and beauty, in early 
days ! Who that had not seen the utter desolation which has 
come upon the renowned cities and kingdoms of the world, in 
time past, would believe that the massive structures, the in- 
exhaustible resources, the uncounted wealth, of a great city 
like Jericho could pass away forever, and leave not a trace of 
their existence behind ? When the king of this strong city 
and the people, in the days of Joshua, stood upon the walls, 
and beheld that great host of God's people approaching, after 
their miraculous passage across the Jordan, how did their 
hearts rejoice in their towers of might and grandeur, and how 
did they trust in their walls of solid masonry, and their capa- 
bility of keeping out all invaders ! Vain and futile hope, this 
of theirs ! God Himself, without one blow being struck, ©ne 

* Sir Gardner Wilkinson, speaking of the slight value of " Arab tradition" 
in Egypt, says, " But little faith is to be placed in the tales of the modern in- 
habitants." The remark is as applicable to Syria as to Egypt. 

t Deut. xxxiv. 3 ; 2 Chron. xxviii. 15. 

| " Jericho," says Maundrell, "is at present only a poor, nasty village of the 
Arabs." Lord Lindsay found only one palm tree at Riha, the village above 
spoken of; he is inclined to think the ruins of Jericho not in this place, but some 
little distance to the west. Dr. Robinson (vol. ii. p. 299) is disposed to place 
the ancient site at the opening of the Yfady Kelt, half an hour south of Ain es- 
Sultan. 



RUINS OF JERICHO. 



395 



arm raised to assault those walls, brought down their confi- 
dence in a moment, and the walls fell flat to the earth, and 
the city and people were captives in the hands of Joshua. 
Subsequently, its importance was to some extent revived ; 
and in our Saviour's days, it was a large and noted city of 
the priesthood. Here He lodged with Zaccheus, the rich and 
honest tax-gatherer ; and here He healed the blind man. It 
figured, too, in the later history of Palestine. Bat in the 
lapse of ages, it fell into utter ruin, and now has nothing to 
tell where it once stood, or to evidence its former wealth, 
power, and greatness. It will be well if other cities, now so 
proud, so strong, so confident of perpetual existence, lay to 
heart the lessons which the desolation and entire ruin of cities 
and empires in the East so forcibly and so constantly teach. 

It was with solemnized feelings that I rode through this 
petty village, and crossing a woody and very fertile plain be- 
yond, sought the appointed place of encampment, where our 
party was to meet and pass the night. After considerable 
search, we found the Bedawin and our servant. They had 
pitched the tent on the bank* of a babbling, smiling brook, 
which comes from Ain es-Sultan, or the Fountain of Elisha, 
and furnishes the neighboring village and plain with an abun- 
dant supply of pure and sweet water.* It was a lovely spot, 
and particularly inviting to us at this time ; because we 
were not a little fatigued and worn down with the length of 
our excursion, and the intense heat of the sun during the day. 
I do not suppose that we are more fond than others of eating 
and drinking, but on the present occasion, we were not sorry 

* Mr. Buckingham, (" Travels" &c. p. 292) gives an account of the Fountain 
of Elisha, which is worth quoting : " The head of this water is enclosed in a 
basin of a triangular shape, of which each side is about three fathoms in length. 
It is lined with wrought stone, and is even paved in parts. There are two 
niches in one of its sides, which is higher than the others, and an orifice by 
which the water issues, in a stream sufficient to turn a mill. It is said that 
several sources discharge themselves into the same basin ; but their depth pre- 
vents them from being explored." See. also, Robinson's " Bib. Res." vol. ii. p, 
283, 284. 



396 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

to find our dinner all ready to be served, and to be able, with 
thankful hearts, to refresh our jaded bodies with food con- 
venient. The water of the fountain, too, was especially 
grateful to our feelings ; and we thought much of that 
Prophet who exerted the power God had bestowed upon him, 
to make the spring, which was salt and unfit to drink, a 
source of pure and sweet water, the most invaluable blessing 
for man in all ages and all countries. The evening was very 
warm, a sirocco having sprung up, which, despite our cool 
and pleasant situation under the trees and near the brook and 
fountain, Oppressed us very much, and prevented our sleep- 
ing, as we had desired and hoped. # We sat up late, and for 
a long time were gazing at the starry heavens in their un- 
equalled magnificence and grandeur : for the skies, in Syria, 
are very brilliant and very beautiful at night. Toward mid- 
night, as we were hoping to sleep in peace, the sharp and 
disagreeable cries and yells of the jackals saluted our ears ; 
and we were regaled with their music, with little intermission, 
until the next morning. 

Before breaking up the nex^day, we took another walk to 
the Fountain of Elisha, and could well appreciate the poet's 
skill and acuteness in choosing this, if he had any actual spot 
in view, as his " Diamond in the Desert," in the delightful 
story where Sir Kenneth, Richard the Lion-hearted, and 
Saladin figure so pleasantly and enticingly.! We got off, 

* The climate here is always excessively hot, and at certain seasons this local- 
ity is very sickly for strangers. Dr. Robinson compares it to the sultry heat of 
Egypt. This need not be wondered at when it is recollected that the plain of 
the Jordan is more than 1200 feet below the Mediterranean, and nearly 4000 
below Jerusalem. 

t "Ere they remounted to resume their journey, the Christian knight again 
moistened his lips and dipt his hands in the living fountain, and said to his 
pagan associate of the journey, ' I would I knew the name of this delicious 
fountain, that I might hold it in my grateful remembrance ; for never did water 
slake more deliciously a more oppressive thirst than I have this day expe- 
rienced.' 

"'It is called in the Arabic language,' answered the Saracen, 'by a name 
which signifies the Diamond of the Desert.' 



THE ROAD FROM JERICHO. 



397 



however, as early as we could — about half-past six — and 
leaving this interesting locality with many regrets, we pre- 
pared to mount the hills, which must be crossed ere we could 
reach the Holy City. Even at this hour the sun shone hot, 
and the air was still and oppressive. I do not suppose that 
you will care to have me tell you again of a road so uninvit- 
ing, so dreary, and so desolate as this from Jericho up to 
Jerusalem is : barrenness and deadness are indeed every- 
where, and no man can traverse a path like this without 
being depressed, and without feeling that a curse does indeed 
rest upon the face of the land. " One must be amid these 
wild and gloomy solitudes, surrounded by an armed band, 
and feel the impatience of the traveller, who rushes on to 
catch a new view at every pass and turn ; one must be 
alarmed at the very stamp of the horses' hoofs, resounding 
through the caverned rocks, and at the savage shouts of the 
footmen, scarcely less loud than the echoing thunder, pro- 
duced by the discharge of their pieces in the valleys; one 
must witness all this upon the spot," ere he can appreciate 
the nature and character of this gloomy road. Believe me, 
I was not sorry when we drew near to the Holy City again, 
and seemed once more to be amid the habitations of life, and 
witnessing the still poured out blessings of Almighty God. 

About ten o'clock we came to the encampment of our 
sheikh, who was very urgent with us to stop a while and 
take coffee, pipes, etc., with him ; but we declined, being 
eager to reach Jerusalem once more, and we parted with the 
sheikh with many pretty speeches on his part, and fewer but 

" 1 And well is it so named/ replied the Christian. 'My native valley hath a 
thousand springs, but not to one of them shall I attach, hereafter, such pre- 
cious recollection as to this solitary fount, which bestows its liquid treasures 
where they are not only delightful, but nearly indispensable.' 

" 1 You say truth,' said the Saracen ; ' for the curse is still on yonder sea of 
death, and neither man nor beast drink of its waves, nor of the river which 
feeds without filling it, until this inhospitable desert be passed.' " — " Tlie Tal- ' 
isman" ch. iii. 



398 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



more sincere words of courtesy on ours. Passing Bethany 
without stopping at this time, we rode on, and were soon 
greeted with a view of the city of the Great King, which, as 
it lay before us, now looked more lovely than ever, and seemed 
to have new attractions in our eyes, because of its being for 
the time our home. Passing down the southerly slope of the 
mount, we were saluted by some women at a small fountain 
near the road side as Hadji , a title of honor, and not unde- 
served certainly, since we were just returning from the pil- 
grimage to the Jordan, and were full of the thoughts which 
such a pilgrimage must ever inspire. We entered the city 
at noon precisely, much fatigued, and glad to rest our weary 
limbs ; but nevertheless very thankful that it had pleased 
God to preserve us amid the danger to which we had been 
exposed, and to bring us in safety to the Holy City again. 



Many mere personal matters I must pass over in silence ; 
I might tell you a long story about the pleasant social inter- 
course which I have enjoyed with the bishop, clergy, and 
others connected with the mission to the Jews ; about some 
dear English and German friends, whose many kindnesses 
will ever remain enshrined in my memory ; about the num- 
erous walks in and about the city for the purpose of forming 
an intelligent opinion on disputed points ; and such like ; but 
I will forbear ; and with only a line or two on a matter of 
deep and touching interest to me, I will close this long letter. 

The English church is a very good specimen of its kind, 
what I should call the mixed Gothic ; it is built of light-col- 
ored hewn stone, and arranged internally in the most con- 
venient manner. One long aisle, with open benches on each 
side, runs through the body of the church, or the nave, as I 
suppose I may call it. The transepts are not long, and also 



f 

CHURCH SERVICES IN JERUSALEM. 399 

filled with seats, the windows at either end shedding a clear 
light upon the interior. The chancel recess is somewhat 
spacious, and the altar rather prominent, and a noble Gothic 
window, with its stained glass, lets in a very attractive light, 
especially when the sun strikes it with its brilliant rays in 
the latter part of the day. The reading-desk and pulpit arc 
at the right hand of the chancel ; the vestry is on the oppo- 
site side. The church would seat, I presume, about four 
hundred, perhaps more. Alas, that I should say it, the at- 
tendance is small, and never, if I may judge from the occa- 
sions on which I have been present, equals one half what the 
church could easily accommodate. The services are in He- 
brew, German, and English. I was very much interested 
in the early six o'.clock service in Hebrew every day, and was 
very glad to have the opportunity to join in the Liturgy in a 
language so appropriate to Jerusalem and the children of 
Israel. What, however, has made a deeper impression than 
all upon my feelings individually, has been the fact that I was 
privileged, on the invitation of Mr. Nicolayson, to read 
Evening Prayer on Sunday last, the First after Easter. It 
was a very lovely afternoon, and was an occasion which I can 
never forget. I, an invalid from a land many thousand miles 
off, — I, a poor, unworthy ministering servant of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, was permitted to stand and in His name read 
the Holy Gospels in the ears of the congregation, and offer up 
the prayers and praises of His people in the very city where 
He once walked the earth, and where He died to atone for our 
sins. You will believe me that my heart was full of emo- 
tion, and you will not wonder that tears of mingled thanks- 
giving and mourning bedewed my eyes. O may the aspira- 
tions of that hour be sanctified to my soul's eternal welfare ! 
O may He, without whom we can do nothing, strengthen 
me for the work which he has given me to do ! 

And now, my dear S., let me say adieu for the present : 
all our preparations are made to leave Jerusalem : my Pil- 



400 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

grim's Certificate has been duly obtained ; our horses and 
mules are engaged ; our friends, Dr. W. and Mr. M., have 
already gone ; and in a few hours we hope to set off for the 
north, and to visit other parts of the Holy Land. Be sure 
that I shall address you again at the first opportunity. 



LETTER XIX. 



Sutrea— Sam art a— $ a cob's Weil— Hafiulus. 

Preparations for Departure.— Leave the City.— Last View of Jerusalem.— Character of the 
Road as we proceed Northwardly. — Ruins by Roadside. — Anathoth. — Er-Ram or Ramah 
of Benjamin.— Gibeon, Beth-horon, &c— The Miracle wrought by Joshua.— Baeroth, Place 
of Encampment. — Pleasantness of the Scene. — Tradition relating to the Virgin and Child* 
— Next Morning's Experience. — Delays. — Beitin or Bethel.— Hilly Road. — Picturesqueness. — 
Yebrud.— Mountains of Ephraim.— Khan Lubban.— Shiloh.— Plain of El-Mukhna.— Ex- 
tent and Fertility. — A Gallop. — Jacob's Well. — Its Touching Interest. — Our Lord and the 
Woman of Samaria. — Arrival at Nablus. — Adventure. — Were Stoned.— Beauty of the Val- 
ley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. — Musings on the Past. — Visit to the Syna- 
gogue of the Samaritans. — Had a Sight of the Pentateuch.— Its Age and Value. — Tischen- 
dorff's Opinion. — The Lepers. — Population, Name, &c, of the City. 

Nablus, April 19th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

On Tuesday afternoon last, we made our final arrange- 
ments for leaving the Holy City. After seeing our mules 
well packed and sent on ahead to meet us at a certain point, 
and after paying our respects to the few friends and brethren 
whom we were leaving behind, we mounted our horses, and 
rode out of the Jaffa Gate, with feelings which you can imag- 
ine, but which I find myself wholly unable to express. Jeru- 
salem grows upon one so much, it has so many points of at- 
traction, and is so full of everything to interest and move the 
heart, and to stir up the deepest sympathies of the soul, that 
every pilgrim who has been privileged to sojourn a few weeks 
within its hallowed precincts, is filled with regret and sorrow 
when the hour arrives at which he must bid it adieu forever. 
We passed out of the gate slowly and sadly ; cast one linger- 
ing look down the narrow ravine, with the heights of Zion 
on the one hand, and a part of the vale of Hinnom beyond ; 



402 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



looked our last upon the Tower of David ; skirted the western 
wall ; turned to the right at the north-west angle, and after 
another survey of this portion of the wall and ground, joined 
the main road, which leads almost directly to the north of 
Palestine. We did not now stop to examine the various 
localities near the road ; we had before visited the Grotto of 
Jeremiah, the broad plain beyond the Damascus Gate, the 
ruins in the neighborhood, the tomb of Helena, Queen of 
Adiabene, the tombs of the Kings, &c, and now we were 
leaving them all, and our feet were no more to tread the hills 
and valleys about Jerusalem. Crossing the olive grove, 
where the green grain gave tokens of life and industry, we 
passed the supposed tombs of the Kings, and entered upon 
the rocky path beyond. Ere long we reached the heights of 
Scopas, and under the brilliant light which even the declining 
sun affords in Syria, we gazed upon the Holy City for the 
last time. It was a long and an earnest gaze ; for only about 
a mile distant was the city of the Lord our God, silent, sad, 
and desolate. We looked upon the scene with mingled emo- 
tions, and as each object, — O how well known, short as had 
been our stay ! — struck upon our sight ; we remembered what 
we had beheld and enjoyed, and we thought with sorrow, 
that we should see them again no more forever. The dome 
of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Tower of David, 
the Mosk of Omar, the minarets here and there, were prom- 
inent objects in the view, within the walls ; while outside the 
city, the valley of Jehoshaphat stretching away in the distance, 
the heights and slopes of the Mount of Olives, and the sombre- 
hued mountains of Moab, from this spot just visible, served 
to add as well to the beauty as the interest of the scene. We 
could not look upon all these things without deep feeling, and 
we halted for some little time before we could bring ourselves 
to turn away and look no more. I will not attempt either to 
describe or to analyze my emotions ; I will only tell you what 
I did, and how apt and meet seemed the Psalmist's words. 



DEPARTURE FROM JERUSALEM. 



403 



when God's people were mourning over the desolation and 
captivity of Jerusalem. I lifted my hat from my head, and 
with a devout gesture, becoming the sacredness of the time, 
and the words of Holy Writ, I exclaimed, from the very 
depth of my heart, 

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, 
Let my right hand forget her cunning. 
If I do not remember thee, 
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; 
If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."* 

May God of His mercy listen to the supplications of those 
who pray for the peace of Jerusalem ! and may the day soon 
come when "the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the 
Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again!"! 

The road, for some miles, we found to be very stony, un- 
even, and uninteresting ; and though I doubt not that once 
this land, in every part of it, was very fertile, and yielded 
abundantly, yet now from the barren and rocky soil it would 
seem but little could be obtained. Very little, certainly, is 
the increase of the ground, as it is now managed by the 
careless, oppressed, and unambitious population ; though there 
is good reason to believe, that under proper culture, the 
ground would produce fairly and well, if not abundantly. 
Once it was indeed " a good land, a land of brooks of water, 
of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; 
a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and 
pomegranates ; a land of oil olive, and honey ;" a land where 
there was bread without scarceness; whose stones were iron, 
and out of whose hills one might digbrass.t But the wicked- 
nesses of the people have brought upon it the curses de- 
nounced against the rebellions of Israel, and the Lord has 
" rooted them out of their land, in anger and in wrath, and in 
great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is 

* Ps. cxxxvii. 5, 6. f Zech. ii. 12. 

$ Deut. viii. 7-9. 



404 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



this day."* Here and there we find traces of the ancient, 
widely-extended cultivation. "Waste and unreclaimed districts 
are frequently met with; and, " except immediately round 
the villages, the hills, once terraced and crowned with olive- 
trees and vines, are uniformly bare or overgrown with wild 
shrubs and flowers — proofs far more than sufficient that the 
land still enjoys her Sabbaths, and only waits the return of 
her banished children, and the application of industry com- 
mensurate with her agricultural capabilities, to burst once 
more into universal luxuriance, and be all that she ever was 
in the days of Solomon."! 

Meditating upon such topics as these, we passed Shafat on 
our left,, and about three o'clock, came to some curious 
remains of arches, large stones, and other things indicative 
of a town or city which stood here in former days. Possibly, 
as has been suggested by a recent traveller, this may be 
the place alluded to in Joshua, in speaking of the lot of the 
tribe of Benjamin : — " Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth 
on the south side of the nether Beth-horon."£ Br. Robinson 
makes Atara, the Ataroth of Scripture, to be situate some 
distance to the north of Ramah. On our right, not very far 
from the road, we saw Anata, or Anathoth, where the Prophet 
Jeremiah was born, and which was one of the cities of refuge. 
Soon after, passing over the same stony and uneven road, at the 
usual rate of a horse's walk, we came to Er-Ram, or Ramah 
of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 25), § which is situate on a hill, and is 
a rather striking object, as seen from the road. To the west, 
we could just catch a glimpse of the site of what Dr. Robinson 
considers to be Gibeon ; and still farther off, and to the north 
of west, was Beth-horon, as placed on his map. From the 
position of Beth-horon, it would appear that there were two 

* Deut. xxix. 28. 

f Lord Lindsay's 11 Letters on Egypt" &c, p. 251. | Josh, xviii. 13. 

§ The Ramah of Mount Ephraim, where Samuel was born, is supposed by 
Dr. Robinson to be the present Soba, lying to the west of Jerusalem. — " Bib. 
Res.," vol. ii. p. 330-334. 



GIBEON AND THE VALLEY OF AJALON. 405 

towns of the name, Upper and Lower, or perhaps one city 
called by these names, according to the part of it on the hill- 
top or further down into the deep pass or valley. Josephus 
speaks of there being here a narrow, steep, and rocky hollow 
way or pass, exceedingly dangerous to an army, which would 
seem to favor this view.* In the book of Joshua (ch. x. 10, 
11) we are told of " the going down to Beth-horon," and of 
the way from Gibeon " that goeth up to Beth-horon.'' It was 
on the occasion of which the sacred writer speaks, that the 
captain of the host of the Lord commanded the sun and the 
moon, and they obeyed him: — "Then spake Joshua to the 
Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites 
before the children of Israel, and he said, in the sight of Israel, 
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou, Moon, in the 
valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon 
obeyed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their 
enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher ? So the 
sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go 
down about a whole day. And there was no day like that, 
before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of 
a man : for the Lord fought for Israel."! It was a stupend- 
ous miracle indeed, and one which magnified the power of 
Him who created and sustains the universe. Without per- 
plexing ourselves as to the speculations and doubts of philos- 
ophers and wise men, it was enough for us to know that thus 
it is written ; and believing in God's almighty power, we were 
in no wise troubled with hesitancy as to His ability to do what 
seemeth good in His sight ; so that we looked toward Beth- 
horon and the Valley of Ajalon, with the deepest awe, and 
bowed our souls in adoration before the throne of Jehovah. 
Descending into a low plain or valley, pleasant and green 

* Dr. Robinson says, that " it appears that in ancient times, as at the pres- 
ent day, the great road of communication between Jerusalem and the sea-coast, 
was by the pass of Beth-horon." — " Bib. Res." vol. hi. p. 61. 

f Josh. x. 12-14. 



406 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



in comparison with most of the road over which we had been 
journeying, at a little past four P.M., we arrived at El Bireh, 
the Beer or Beeroth of Scripture. It is a very pretty spot, 
and offered so many attractions in our eyes, as a resting 
place, that we determined to encamp here for the night. We 
pitched our tent near a ruined wely, or Mohammedan saint's 
tomb, to the west of the village, and were regaled with the 
gushing streams and fountains of water which were close by 
and all around in every direction: most truly does the pres- 
ent locality answer to the name of the Well or Wells, for 
water is in abundance, and what is more, is very sweet and 
good. I was much interested in rambling about a while 
before evening, and looking upon the varied scenes offered to 
the inspection of the traveller. On the gentle slope near to 
our tent, I came upon a large flock of goats and sheep, in 
charge of a lad about twelve years of age, who looked at me 
with wondering eyes, and tried to enter into conversation; 
but our stock of words and sentences was too small to give 
much satisfaction for this purpose. I saw also several other 
flocks, generally in charge of men, and sometimes of women. 
Here and there the fields of grain were abundant, and ap- 
peared to promise a rich harvest, which was matter of no 
surprise to one who beheld the supply of water in every di- 
rection. How truly might such a land become again rich 
and fruitful to a degree equal to anything in its former his- 
tory ! Walking down by the ruined wely, I found there 
several women and girls with their jars for water, and was 
rather struck with the prettiness, amounting almost to 
beauty, of the girls, and the haggard, disagreeable faces of 
the older women ; — for here, as you may recollect, the people 
in the country districts do not make it a point to cover their 
faces with the odious veil, which forms the essential element 
in a female's dress out of doors in Egypt. They looked at me 
with considerable interest, quite as much so as I did at them ; 
and placing their jars on their shoulder or head, they smiled 



TRIALS OF TRAVEL. 



407 



an adieu, and went to their homes. Besides these trifling 
incidents, I was not a little interested in the traditionary re- 
lation, which sets forth that it was here that the Virgin Mother, 
not finding her Son. as she had hoped, somewhere in the com- 
pany which was journeying like ourselves towards Nazareth, 
turned back to the Holy City, and with Joseph went in sor- 
row and apprehension to search for Him. It was a meet and 
fitting subject of meditation for us that evening, to call to mind 
the incidents related in Holy Scripture of our Most Blessed 
Lord and Saviour during the days that He was subject unto 
His earthly parent, and His reputed father, Joseph the carpen- 
ter of Nazareth. Bat I will not weary you with a recital of 
our musings on this occasion : I will only hope and trust that 
they were profitable to us in more ways than one.^ 

We rose the next morning at daybreak, having passed a 
quiet night, and though rather longer than usual in getting 
off, we were, nevertheless, in the saddle about half-past six. 
The first morning after leaving a city, has always more or 
less of delay and vexation connected with it : the mules are 
not yet well broken in ; their loads are not clearly portioned 
out ; the mukri, or drivers and attendants of the mules and 
horses, are not yet perfectly familiar with their new charge; 
something is sure to be mislaid : too much load to be got on 
to one, too little on to another : the tent apparatus and the 
kitchen affairs do not pack as well as they ought ; the saddles 
or bridles or stirrups of the horses do not altogether suit the 
gentlemen ; and withal there is a bustle and confusion which 
never helps work forward, but the reverse. We having six 
mules and four horses, experienced a number of these trials 
on the morning of Wednesday last ; but, after all, as our 

* Dr. Robinson's notice of El-Bireh is interesting: he rates the population at 
TOO. all Mohammedans, and points out some traces of the antiquity of the place, 
particularly the remains of a fine old church with pointed arches, which was 
probably built by the Knights Templars, who at one time owned this village. 
The houses in the town are mostly low. and in some cases, half under ground. 
~' : Bib. Res.'' vol. ii. p. 130. 131. 



408 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



muleteers were tolerably good-natured and willing, and as 
Antonio was a very thorough-going fellow, we succeeded in 
getting under way in pretty fair season ; and after the first 
morning, had no reason to complain of needless delays on the 
road. In less than an hour we passed Beitin, or Bethel, on 
our right, but did not turn off to examine it at all, our object 
being to reach Nablus before night, if possible. The air was 
warm, but not to be termed hot, and, excepting occasional 
clouds, the weather was clear and delightful. In general, the 
country was very hilly, and ofttimes very picturesque and 
beautiful. The road, which, as you understand, is only a 
bridle path for horses, camels, &c, no vehicles ever bring 
used, passes along the hill-sides or through the deep ravines 
and valleys ; at one time there are lofty but sterile mountain- 
tops, towering up at your very side ; at another you find 
yourself in a deep and lovely valley, rich with the products 
of the ground, the grain, the fruits, the vines, the groves of 
olives, figs, &c. ; and at another again you ride slowly over 
the pathway which is cut in the rocks, and from which you 
look down precipices of no mean height, and full of danger in 
case of misstep or slipping. The soil, too, as we approach 
the vicinity of Samaria, seems to be more fertile and produc- 
tive, and the people, though here, as everywhere, far too care- 
less and indolent, find good harvest and good return, indeed, 
for the scanty labor they bestow in tilling the ground. 

Leaving on our right Ain Yebrud, which stands on a 
conical hill in a narrow valley, and Gophna on our left, we 
skirted the precipitous sides of a deep ravine, and arrived at 
Yebrud at half-past eight. We were now entering the por- 
tion of country belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, and were 
continually reminded of the change from the generally barren 
and sterile regions about Jerusalem to the more fruitful and 
better watered country to the north. The hill-sides are ter- 
raced up and brought under cultivation ; and the villages, as 
seen at this season of the year, surrounded by their gardens 



RUINS AT SHILOH. 



409 



and fields of grain, and rich with the vine, the fig, the pome- 
granate, the olive, and other productions of nature's bounty, 
appeared very attractive, and not unlike what we may 
imagine them to have been in the days when Moses wrote 
of the promised land: — "The land whither thou goest in to 
possess it, is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came 
out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy 
foot, as a garden of herbs ; but the land whither ye go to 
possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water 
of the rain of heaven ; a land which the Lord thy God car- 
eth for ; the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, 
from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the 
year."^ Continuing our onward progress, almost due north, 
we had the mountains of Ephraim a little way to the left, 
and reached Sinjil at eleven. Traversing a fine broad valley 
between hills of stony, barren summits, at a quarter past 
twelve we arrived at Khan Lubban. The Khan itself is in 
ruins ; but in the vicinity is a fine fountain of water ; and 
to the north-west on a hilly slope is the village of Lubban. 
A little to the right is the deserted site of Shiloh, which, as 
says a recent traveller, is " marked by a ruinous mosk, 
overhung by a lofty and noble tree. The utter desolation of 
the scene was startling. A rocky hill, strewn with prostrate 
walls and foundations, seemed a burrow for jackals and a 
nest for scorpions ; in a wild and sterile valley below yawned 
the orifices of a few vacant tombs ; and at a short distance 
were the fast mouldering vestiges of a Byzantine church, 
its wall and gate overrun with foliage and a few prostrate 
columns half buried in herbage. Not a human dwelling was 
in sight." A most sad scene of desolation indeed, when 
one remembers the many incidents connected with Shiloh in 
the Old Testament history; for here the ark and the taber- 
nacle were ; near to this place the daughters of Shiloh came 
out to dance in dances, and were many of them carried off 

* Deut. xi. 10-12. 

18 



410 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



by the children of Benjamin who had escaped the slaughter 
of their tribe ; here Eli the high priest ministered before the 
Lord ; here the little Samuel was called, and spent his child- 
hood's days in the services of the sanctuary ; and many such 
interesting recollections were associated with Shiloh. Alas, 
that the wickedness of the people called down upon it the 
just vengeance of God : — 

" So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, 
The tent which He placed among men :" 
— " Go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh ; 
Where I set my Name at the first, 

And see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel."* 

After leaving Khan Lubban, the road passed at intervals 
over rocky hills, through cultivated valleys, and across 
plains of no great extent, with several small villages or 
towns here and there, which I believe are not marked on any 
map of the country. About two o'clock, we reached the 
descent of the last of those hills on this route before coming 
to the broad valley or plain of El Mukhna, which extends 
with little interruption northward even to the vicinity of 
Nablus, where I am now writing. It was a lovely sight to 
look down upon this plain, so extensive and so rich with the 
products of the ground, wanting nothing but the thriving 
village and the busy hum of people happy, free and con- 
tented, to make it a terrestrial paradise. It may appear 
rather childish, I fear, but under the excitement of a broad 
course over which to spur our horses, we yielded to its in- 
fluence, and in high glee, dashing past Hawara, a large vil- 
lage on a side hill, we put our steeds upon their mettle and 
soon left dragoman, muleteers, and everything out of sight, 
much to the astonishment of the peaceful husbandmen along 
the roadside. I have not had so good an opportunity to test 
the value of Syrian horses before ; and from my experience 

* Ps. lxxviii. 60; Jer. vii. 12. 



Jacob's well. 



411 



of their qualities, I assure you I am delighted with them ; 
their paces are just to my taste ; they are trained to walk at 
a rapid pace and to keep this up for hours ; they know naught 
about that horrible gait termed a trot, which almost kills me 
when I attempt to ride at home ; and they gallop or canter 
most swiftly and pleasantly indeed, being always tractable 
under the management of the bit and bridle. I hope to have 
many a delightful ride before our journey is ended. 

Soon after, Mount Gerizim rose distinctly before us, with 
Mount Ebal beyond, a deep gorge or valley lying between ;* 
and when we had been rejoined by our dragoman and a 
Nubian muleteer, and had proceeded for an hour or so, 
still over the plain, we came to a spot of the deepest interest, 
and one which excited all our sympathies — I mean Jacob's 
Well. It is some distance from the city, and at present is 
deserted and desolate, without water. I had hardly expected 
such a scene as met the eye ; climbing over a low wall of 
stone, and making our way through the brush and brambles, 
which are quite thick here, we came to the mouth of the 
ancient well ; at present the opening is only about a foot wide, 
and it looked to me as though the stones forming the mouth 
had fallen or been pushed together and made it much smaller 
than it once was. Maundrell's account is interesting, and 
well worth quoting, since there is little doubt that the well, 
and everything about it, is very nearly precisely the same as 
it was in his day, a hundred and fifty years ago. "Over the 
well there stood formerly a large church, erected by that 
great and devout patroness of the Holy Land, the empress 
Helena. But of this the voracity of time, assisted by the 
hands of the Turks, has left nothing but a few foundations re- 
maining. The well is covered at present with an old stone 
vault, into which you are let down through a very straight 
hole ; and then removing a broad, flat stone, you discover the 

* These mountains are between 800 and 1000 feet above the valley, and some 
2700 above the Mediterranean. 



412 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



mouth of the well itself. It is dug in a firm rock, and con- 
tains about three yards in diameter and thirty-five in depth, 
five of which we found full of water. This confutes a story 
commonly told to travellers who do not take pains to examine 
the well, viz. : that it is dry all the year round, except on 
the anniversary of that day on which our blessed Saviour 
sat upon it, but then bubbles up with abundance of water."* 
Among the deeply touching localities of the Holy Land, 
Jacob's Well holds a prominent place ; and we lingered here 
in this now desolate spot, and strived to realize the eventful 
story recorded by St. John. It was a day- — more than two 
thousand years ago — fraught with the tenderest compassion 
and love on the part of the Divine Saviour towards the souls 
of men, when wearied with journeying under the hot sun of 
Syria, at the hour of noon He reached the well of the great 
patriarch. Faint and fatigued with exertion, and desiring 
rest, He sat down on the side of the well's mouth to rest; His 
disciples had gone away into the city to buy food and provide 
things needful for their journey : as He sat thus alone by the 
well-side, a Samaritan woman, most probably not from the 
city of Shechem or Sychar, but a hamlet nearer by, came to 
draw water for her domestic needs. She saw that He was 
a Jew, and knowing that fact, and remembering the enmity 
subsisting between her countrymen and the Jews, she did not 
address Him, nor would she have extended to - Him any of the 
civilities and courtesies so common in the East, and so cheer- 
ing to the weary and way-worn traveller. She was well 
aware too of the inveterate hatred and scorn of the Jews for 
the Samaritans, and she thought that He who now was rest- 
ing His wearied person by the well-side would only look at 
her with dislike if not disgust ; but she was ignorant who He 
was that she was now privileged to meet. Jesus, therefore, 
perceiving that the woman had not offered the water to His 
parched and thirsty lips, said unto her, " Give Me to drink." 

* Maundrell's "Journey" &c, March 24th. 



our lord's gracious words. 



413 



The woman, in her astonishment at the request, asks Him the 
question, how it was that He would do thus, and demand 
drink of a woman of Samaria. The blessed Saviour conde- 
scends to continue the conversation thus begun, and by His 
heavenly discourse both manifests His compassion to her igno- 
rance, reveals His heavenly doctrine, and proclaims to her His 
true character as the Messiah of God. When she, with all 
the zeal of one who had taken part in the bitter controversy 
which raged between Samaritan and Jew ever since Sanbal- 
lat, by permission of Alexander the Great, had built on Mount 
Gerizim a temple for his son-in-law, Manasseh, in opposition 
to the temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem, was eager to know 
from one who was possessed of prophetic and Divine knowl- 
edge, the truth on the question at issue ; Jesus replied, 
" Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither 
in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
Ye worship ye know not what ; we know what we worship ; 
for salvation is of the Jews; but the hour cometh, and now 
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in 
spirit and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship 
Him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must wor- 
ship Him in spirit and in truth." It may be that neither the 
woman nor yet His disciples, who enjoyed His daily teaching, 
understood the full import of these momentous words ; but to 
us, who live in these days of Christian light and blessing, 
they are clear, most impressive, and full of comfort ; for God 
our Saviour, in His love and compassion, requires of us now 
the service and obedience of faithful hearts and lives, and not 
that we should three times a year, as of old, go up to His 
temple at Jerusalem. Let us bless and praise His holy name 
that His Church is no longer confined to one people, one 
country, one language, but is now catholic, for all ages, all 
climes, all people of the earth ! 

We did not venture to linger here very long, for the after- 
noon's sun warned us to fix upon our place of encampment 



414 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



ere night set in ; and the knowledge of the fact that these 
mountain-sides are infested with petty thieves and vagabonds, 
induced us to hasten away towards the city. Turning to the 
west, we entered the lovely valley between Gerizim andEbal 
on either hand. Gradually ascending the slope towards the 
city, we were gratified with the view of the profusion of 
fields, and gardens, and groves of olive, the enclosures of cit- 
rons, pomegranates, mulberry, vines, etc., which seem to 
surround the whited walls of Sychar, or Nablus, as it is now 
called ; and we promised ourselves a delightful repose, either 
in or near the town, after the fatigues of the day. But our 
anticipations were not to be realized, and we met with an 
adventure which was more vexatious and dangerous than 
pleasant. I have not yet been able to find out how or why 
it was that we did not follow the more usual plan, and pass 
outside of the walls to our proposed place of encampment be- 
yond ; but we did not, that is certain, as I have had too much 
occasion to remember ever since. When we came near the 
city, at the eastern entrance, an officious young scamp was 
very ready to show us the way, and as Antonio was in ad- 
vance, he ought to have known better than to have followed 
him ; however, in our simplicity, in we went after the boy, 
and at a slow pace proceeded through the main street, where 
most of the shops are, towards the gate at the opposite end 
of the city. Perhaps it was mere fancy, but I think now 
that I saw a twinkle of the eye, as though our extemporary 
guide had succeeded in getting us into a scrape from which 
we could extricate ourselves no better by turning backward 
than by going forward. The street was full of people, and 
just wide enough for us to advance in single file : at first, 
they looked at us rather spitefully, which we did not mind a 
rush; then they began to use abusive language, which we 
did not particularly care about, and could have endured; 
next, the children and half-grown boys and girls began to 
shout words and songs of insult against " Christian dogs," 



A STONING IN NABLUS. 



415 



which was very vexatious and annoying, but of no great con- 
sequence : the result of all this, as you may suppose, was, 
that very soon a considerable excitement was got up against 
us in this fanatical city. The old people, and parents in gen- 
eral, began to come out to the doors to see what it was all 
about, and as, by their smiles and laughs of encouragement, 
they pushed the younger ones on to extreme steps, so it hap- 
pened, and matters did indeed proceed to extremities. You 
will recollect that we were advancing at a walk, one behind 
the other, and, as ill fortune would have it, we were alone, 
except the dragoman and a Nubian slave, who had one of the 
horses in charge : the muleteers were some miles distant, 
coming on at a slow pace : Antonio was ahead, Mr. P. next, 
the Nubian next, and poor I last of all : I mention this par- 
ticularly to show you that the severest trial by far came upon 
me, in consequence of my situation behind. Well, then ; the 
noise, and confusion, and insult, and contumely, did not seem 
to satisfy the Nablus people ; so, as we were a small party, 
they ventured upon another step, which was more serious ; 
some boy or other took up a stone or two, shook it at us, and 
emboldened by nearness to his own door, had the audacity to 
throw it ; this time no one was struck ; but the evil was be- 
gun ; other boys picked up stones and in a moment or two a 
whole volley of these was fired ; several struck me with much 
force, but as they came from behind I could not tell who 
threw them; and as the odds were too much against us, a 
whole city against three or four persons, I knew that we 
must get out of it the best way we could; so I shouted to 
Antonio to push on, feeling, I must confess, a strong desire to 
punish the young vagabonds for their outrage against quiet 
travellers like ourselves, and grasping my stout stick with an 
energy that would have been dangerous to any one of them 
had I caught him within my reach. On we pushed, every 
now and then struck by a stone or two, but happily all the 
time getting nearer to the end of our sore trial ; at last we 



416 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



reached the gate, when the uproar ceased and we passed out 
in comparative safety, on the whole glad that it was no worse, 
and rather rejoiced that we had not given way to our indig- 
nation to such a degree as to use fire-arms in our defence : in 
that event, the Nablus folks are not a whit too good to mur- 
der a man outright, which considering our small party they 
might have done with certainty had they got their passions 
sufficiently roused. I do not recollect the exact time that we 
were walking, not running, the gauntlet : but it seemed to 
me an hour at the least ; and had I had it in my power, I 
would have administered a little wholesome discipline upon 
this city, which should have taught it hereafter to respect the 
rights of the traveller and the stranger, no matter of what re- 
ligion or nation he might chance to be.* 

We halted outside the city, under some olive trees, and on a 
pleasant knoll looking down into the valley at our feet, and hav- 
ing in full view Mount Ebal, opposite, and Mount Gerizim 
rising up immediately behind us. In about an hour the rest 
of our train arrived, and we were very glad to have our tent 
pitched, and to get some refreshments and repose after the 
exciting scene through which we had recently passed. Except- 
ing some disturbance, caused by the firing of guns, in the even- 
ing, and the frequent visits which we had paid to us by those 
who came to spy out what they could lay hands on, and were 
rather summarily repulsed on our part, we met with nothing 
of consequence to interfere with our quiet repose at night. 

The next morning, that is the present one on which I am 
writing, we rose very early for the purpose of visiting such 
objects as we had time for, and in order to get off in good 

* Tischendorff gives the Nablusians a very bad character ; they " are a 
riotous, overbearing and fanatical poople. The day before our arrival they had 
slaughtered the sheikh of a neighboring "village, in the heart of the city, out of 
malicious caprice, and this, without even the shadow of a punishment having 
visited them ; for when the circumstance was related to the pasha, he exclaimed, 
'Why did he enter the city? and he took charge of the investigation." — 
"Travels in the East," p. 221. 



THE ACTS OF JOSHUA ON THE MOUNT. 417 

season if possible. We rambled about somewhat before break- 
fast, and climbed up nearly to the top of Mount Gerizim. 
We were very much gratified with the view spread out before 
us at different points in our walk ; for, though the mountain 
summits of both Gerizim and Ebal are, in great measure, 
sterile and harsh to the eye, the picture is softened, and ren- 
dered indeed lovely by the fertile valley, rich in fruits, and 
gardens, and flowers, and by the picturesque minarets and 
flat roofs of the houses, with central domes (as in Jerusalem), 
of the city of Nablus ; we could not, too, but call to mind 
the impressive account in the Holy Scripture, of the signifi- 
cant ceremony here performed by the twelve tribes of Israel, 
God being pleased to take this and every means to set before 
His people the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedi- 
ence to His holy will and commandments. While Moses lived 
God had enjoined upon him this striking service, and after- 
wards, under the noble Joshua, when the armies of the children 
of Israel had subdued Jericho and Ai, an altar was built unto 
the Lord God in Mount Ebal. " As Moses, the servant of the 
Lord, commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the 
book of the Law of Moses, Joshua built an altar of whole stones, 
over which no man hath lift up any iron ; and they offered there- 
on burnt-offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace-offer- 
ings. And he wrote there upon the stones, a copy of the law of 
Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. 
And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, 
stood on this side the ark, and on that side, before the priests, 
the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as 
well the stranger as he that was born among them ; half of 
them over against Mount Gerizim, and half of them over 
against Mount Ebal ; as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had 
commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 
And afterwards he read all the words of the law, the blessings 
and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of 
the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded 

18* 



418 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, 
with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that 
were conversant among them."^ O it must have been a 
most solemn sight, and one which we might imagine would 
never fade away from the memory of the chosen people ; six 
tribes on the one mount, and six on the other, the one utter- 
ing the words of blessing, the other denouncing the curses 
upon rebellion and disobedience, and the thousands, and tens 
of thousands, and hundreds of thousands, shouting with one 
voice, the expressive Amen ! And what, think you, it was to 
us, to stand here so many ages afterwards, and to see and 
know that the blessing has been despised, and the curse in all 
its force had come upon the chosen people ? What wonder 
if our eyes filled with tears, and our hearts were sad and 
heavy with the thought, that even as He has done to the 
perverse and wicked people, called by His name, so will He 
do to us who hear His words, have entered into His covenant, 
and promised to obey Him, if we fall away into sloth or forget- 
fulness, and do not as He has commanded. " Heaven and earth 
shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away." Let 
us not be high-minded, but fear Him whose justice is infinite, 
and who will not spare the impenitent and the disobedient. 

We made it a point this morning, to see the city and to visit 
the Samaritan Synagogue, in hope of having an opportunity 
to inspect the Samaritan Pentateuch, which, as you know, is 
of great importance in the estimation of Biblical scholars. 
Accordingly, after breakfast we went into Nablus, which, 
though it looks well outside, has not many attractions inter- 
nally. The houses are generally of stone, the bazaars are 
well supplied, the population large, and apparently industrious, 
but the streets and lanes are like those in all oriental towns 
which I have seen, narrow, crooked, and filthy. We got 
along pretty well, as respects the clamor and abuse, which 
this time was unaccompanied by a repetition of yesterday's 

* Josh. viii. 30-35. 



THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. 



419 



outrages ; and, save being called bad names by some children, 
who ran after us, we escaped unharmed or unmolested. 

In a little while, we reached the entrance to the old priest's 
house, who lives close by the synagogue ; and we found him 
and a few other persons, sitting cross-legged, and smoking, in 
the court or vestibule before the door of their house of worship. 
After some little conversation with reference to our object, and 
after settling the important matter of keeping on our boots 
while within the synagogue, we were admitted into a moder- 
ate-sized room, covered with straw mats on the floor, and 
offering nothing worthy of mention in regard to its arrange- 
ment or its contents. The venerable rabbi, who was present, 
showed us at first a number of old books and manuscripts 
which he had, keeping back the only one that we really cared 
to see, as if to enhance its value and consequence in our eyes. 
As we were a little impatient, having no time to lose, we 
prevailed upon the old gentleman to bring out the great 
treasure for our inspection. It proved to be a large roll, kept 
in a brass case, and adorned with various costly coverings of 
crimson silk, and letters embroidered in gold. We examined 
the manuscript with all the care we could, and noticed, be- 
sides its evident air of antiquity, that it is written in columns 
of about five by fourteen inches, and three of these to what 
may be termed a page. We were permitted to touch the 
valuable manuscript, to look as closely as we chose at the 
various peculiarities which it possesses, the color of the ink, 
the size, shape, and character of the alphabet, the arrange- 
ment of the words and sentences, &c, and, in short, to enter 
upon any examination which our time or our wishes allowed. 
The old rabbi was very obliging in every way, and in answer 
to our inquiries as to the probable age of the manuscript be- 
fore us, did not scruple to declare that it belonged to the 
period of Moses ! This was rather more than we could credit, 
though we entertained no sort of doubt that the Samaritan 
Pentateuch is of an age which entitles it to very great consid- 



420 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



eration in Biblical questions. I was very sorry that our time 
was so limited, and so little opportunity was afforded us for 
making some research into the interesting questions connected 
with this manuscript ; but we had no alternative, and were 
compelled to bid our old friend adieu, much gratified on the 
whole, and yet regretting the lack of those tilings which we 
had not % in our power.* TischendorfT visited Nablus five 
years ago, and gives an interesting account of what he saw 
and experienced. As his name is distinguished in matters 
relating to ancient manuscripts, I may be allowed to quote a 
sentence or two from his " Travels in the East," with regard 
to this relic of other days : — <; I was chiefly occupied with the 
alleged exceedingly ancient manuscript, which is said to con- 
tain a statement to the effect that it was written thirteen 
years after the death of Moses, by Abischua, the son of 
Phineas, who was grandson of Aaron. The rabbi brought us 
a tin case, within which lay the manuscript, like a large 
synagogue roll of parchment, enveloped in a costly covering 
of crimson silk, with embroidered golden letters. It bears 
undeniable traces of antiquity. I examined the parchment, 
the color of the ink, the system of the lines, the punctuation, 
the divisions (none of which have initials), and the characters, 
as well as they could be examined without a knowledge of 
the Samaritan. All combine to convey the idea of a manu- 
script of the sixth century. Even under this supposition, it 
necessarily holds a very distinguished rank among all the 
ancient parchment codices of both the East and West. 
With respect to the alleged statement, it may not, if in fact 
it exist, be considered otherwise than as a transcript, careless- 
ly copied from former documents, and incorporated in it as a 
note founded on a remote tradition. Perhaps this Abischua 
took some share in writing the original Pentateuch."! 

* I must beg to refer you to Dr. Robinson for an interesting account of the 
correspondence with the Samaritans by accidental scholars, and of the litera- 
ture of this small community. See the " Biblical Researches, 1 ' vol. iii. p. 129-134. 

•J- " Travels in the East;' p. 219. 



NABLUS IN ANCIENT DAYS. 



421 



While I am writing, the dragoman is bustling about, and 
making preparations for our departure. Standing not far off 
are some of that wretched class of persons, lepers, holding out 
their boxes for alms, and begging most piteously for aid. 
Poor creatures ! how deeply do your sufferings move the sym- 
pathies of Christian hearts, and how earnestly do they make 
one long for the Divine power and compassion of Him who 
heard the cry of the leper, and said, "I will; be thou clean!" 
Despite the ill-treatment we have met with in this an- 
cient city, we cannot but acknowledge its beauty of situ- 
ation, and its consequence as the chief town in Samaria. It 
is said to contain about seven thousand inhabitants, among 
whom are a hundred and fifty Samaritans, and if we may 
judge from appearances, possesses considerable Avealth and 
resources. Its present name is derived from the title which 
it received in honor of Vespasian, viz. Flavia Weapolts, 
whence the Arabic Nabulus, or Nablus. Anciently, it was 
called Shechem, Sychem, or Sychar, and calls up the recol- 
lection of events which transpired ages ago. Abraham 
dwelt here. Jacob pitched his tent before this city, and 
bought a parcel of a field, which afterwards he gave to his 
son Joseph. Here Joseph's brethren came, to feed their 
father's flock ; and not far hence, they consummated their 
wickedness, by selling their brother into slavery. Here Jotham 
uttered that beautiful parable to the men of Shechem, respect- 
ing the trees which went forth to choose a king. And here 
our blessed Lord came, at the urgent prayer of the people, 
and abode two days in their midst, proclaiming unto them 
the life-giving words of His Gospel. But I need not enlarge 
upon these topics ; and my time is very short. In a little 
while, we shall be all ready, and in the saddle again. May 
God bless you, and permit me to reach the haven of rest, 
whence I will write you again ! 



LETTER XX. 



Sefjaste— 2Tafjor — 2Ttuertas — Ttf a^aretl). 

Departure from Nablus. — Lovely A r alley between Geriziin and Ebal. — Well-watered. — Law- 
less Character of the People. — Arrival at Sebaste. — Beautiful Situation on a Conical Hill- 
Remains of a Grand Colonnade. — Church of St. John the Baptist.— Difficulty of getting 
Admission. — Insults offered to Travellers. — Road after leaving Sebaste. — Sanuro a Strong 
Place naturally. — Reached Jenin.— Story of our Dragoman's Adventure here. — The Town. 
—The Great Plain of Esdraelon.— Its Fertility, Extent, and Beauty.— Zerin, or An- 
cient Jezreel. — Solam, or Shunem. — Nain. — Kleber's Battle. — Little Hermon. — Arrival at 
Mount Tabor. — Make the Ascent. — Ruins on the Summit. — Magnificent View from the Sum- 
mit. — Question as to the Place of our Lord's Transfiguration. — Reflections on the History 
and Associations of Tabor. — Leave for Sea of Tiberias. — Tne Route.— Jebel Hattin. — Tuba- 
rieh. — Its present Degraded Condition. — Beauty of the Lake. — Our Lord's Frequent Pres- 
ence here. — Desolation of the Cities and Towns around it. — Departure for Nazareth.— 
Lubieh. — Kefr Kenna. — Beautiful Situation of Nazareth. — Its Traditionary Localities. — The 
Mount of Precipitation.— The Panorama from the Summit of the Hill on which Nazareth 
stands.— Reflections on our Lord's Early Days, and the Years spent in Nazareth. 

Nazareth, April 22d. 1849. 

My Dear S., 

My last letter was finished in a very great hurry, as 1 
fear you have discovered ere this ; but there was no alterna- 
tive. I must write when I can, and, though I am am sensi- 
ble that I do it under great disadvantages, still as I have 
promised to let you hear from me at certain intervals, and 
as, perhaps, the necessity of writing rapidly and in great 
measure without books to consult, may be more than com- 
pensated for by the fact that I give you just what I see, and 
hear, and feel, without reference to the speculations and 
theories of the learned or the critical, you will, I am sure, 
take what I send you for what it is worth, and give me your 
attention still further even to the end of my lucubrations 



THE VALLEY NEAR NARLUS. 



423 



Just at present I am seated in the comfortable apartment 
furnished by the good monks of the Latin convent at Naza- 
reth , for the refreshment of travellers and pilgrims; and hav- 
ing now some few hours' leisure and repose after the fatigues 
of several days past, I purpose devoting them to your grati- 
fication—so far as I am able to minister to that — in giving 
you an account of our journeyings since the date of our 
leaving Nablus and its neighborhood. 

It was a bright and beautiful morning, that of the 19th, 
when we turned our faces westwardly, and rode through the 
lovely valley between Mount Gerizim on the south and 
Mount Ebal on the north. Perhaps nowhere in Palestine is 
there a spot which surpasses this vale in attractiveness and 
beauty. It abounds in springs, and fountains, and rivulets 
of pure and sweet water, which gushes forth in every direc- 
tion, and invigorates and clothes everything in the mantle of 
loveliness. The hill-sides are covered with gardens, and 
groves, and verdant, flowery meads ; the melon and the 
cucumber, the pomegranate and citron, the almond and the 
fig, the orange and the apple, the vine and the olive, all 
grow in abundance near Nablus ; amid the foliage of the 
trees, the feathered songsters pour forth their cheering 
notes of gratitude and praise ; and everywhere nature wears 
her garb of beauty, more vivid and striking here because of 
the sterile mountain-tops on either hand and the rough and 
stony region not far distant to the north-west. # As we rode 
along, we noticed several villages near our line of road which 
were apparently thriving and populous ; and we saw evi- 
dences of the industry and comforts of the people in various 
little things which attracted our attention : occasionally, we 

* i; Here a scene of luxuriant and almost unparalleled verdure, burst upon 
our view. The whole valley was filled with gardens of vegetables and orchards 
of all kinds of fruits, watered by several fountains, which burst forth in various 
parts and flowed westwards in refreshing streams. It came upon us suddenly 
like a scene of fairy enchantment. We saw nothing to compare with it in all 
Palestine." — " Bib. Res." vol. iii. p. 95. 



424 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



met a party of horsemen or pedestrians who looked at us 
with no very friendly eye, and I suspect would not have 
hesitated to try what they could get out of us had we not 
appeared to be rather too strong to make it safe to meddle 
with the Franks. Some English friends that followed us a 
day or two later were rather shabbily used by some of these 
vagabonds prowling about Nablus, and would have got into 
very serious trouble had not their firmness overawed the 
Arabs, and thus prevented a resort to extremities. With the 
experience which we had had in respect to the temper and 
conduct of the people of Nablus, and knowing the reputa- 
tion of all this district since the stern sway of Ibrahim 
Pasha has been removed, we neither felt very complaisant to 
those whom we met at intervals, nor did we relax our vigil- 
ance against surprise, or the attacks of robbers and vaga- 
bonds. Believe me, travellers must not depend too much 
upon the general impression that it is safe in any part of the 
Holy Land ; for that is only partly true, and does not apply 
to the region of Samaria any more than to that east of Jeru- 
salem toward the Dead Sea. And I am convinced that the 
main security of travellers consists in their being firm, reso- 
lute, prudent, and (in show at least) well armed, together 
with the absence of any specially exciting cause of the 
fanatical and turbulent spirit of the Mohammedan popu- 
lation in this portion of Palestine. Some circumstances 
which I will mention by and by, may serve to illustrate these 
statements. 

Passing out of this beautiful valley and continuing our 
course to the north-west, we began gradually to ascend again, 
and after a ride of some two hours over hill and dale, we arrived 
at Sebustieh, or ancient Samaria. Before reaching the city, 
we had a fine view of its commanding and noble position from 
the southern valley, from whence rises the hill on which it 
stands; and we were much struck with the figure used by 
the prophet Isaiah, when he terms Samaria " the crown of 



THE DESOLATION OF SAMARIA. 425 

pride of Ephraim," and declares that " the glorious beauty 
which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, 
and as the hasty fruit before the summer for not unlike 
a crown is this round and picturesque mount, girted about 
with a circlet of hills and beautified with fruitful fields, and 
gardens, and flowers. It required but little imagination to 
induce us to believe that in its palmy days it was one of the 
most beautiful and noble-looking cities in the world: it was 
founded, as you will recollect, by Omri, king of Israel, who 
was contemporaneous with Asa, king of Judah, and Elijah, 
the great prophet of the Lord, between nine hundred and a 
thousand years before Christ ;t but now, alas for the pride of 
man, it is like the faded flower, and its wealth, beauty and 
power are all gone; the hill has been ploughed as a field, and 
where once the lofty palace and the gorgeous structure stood 
in all their magnificence, where the populous streets and 
the thousands of inhabitants gave token of life, energy and 
power, now naught is found but the few broken columns half 
covered with earth, and the scanty remains of other days amid 
the trees, and fields, and gardens, and peasants' huts. We 
rode up the hill by a steep and winding path, with consider- 
able expectations, and passing the lowering villagers without 
stopping to parley with them, we hastened to the top of the 
mount to gaze awhile at the splendid scene which there grati- 
fies the traveller. " We stood in the very centre of a mag- 
nificent panorama. To the north-east and south our horizon 
was bounded by mountains, enriched with cultivation and 
villages ; towards the west our eye admitted of the eye rang- 
ing even to the Mediterranean. The valleys which girted 
the mountain, as well as the mountain itself, are luxuriantly 
overgrown with trees, especially olives and fig-trees. Around 

* Is. xxviii. 1, 4. 

t "And Omri bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, 
and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the 
name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria." 1 Kings, xvi. 24. 



426 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the mountain run, like a coronet, the traces of a terrace, 
which was probably formed as a decoration to the royal resi- 
dence." We spent some little time in visiting and examining 
the remains of the colonnade, which is situate some distance 
below the summit of the hill, and on its south-west side or 
slope. A large number of the pillars are still standing, and 
most of them are in very good preservation : they are of lime- 
stone, about eighteen feet in height and nearly two in diam- 
eter ; the width of the colonnade Dr. Robinson gives as fifty 
feet. We followed its course a long way, and were quite 
satisfied that it extended around the base of the hill for con- 
siderably more than half a mile from the point of beginning. 
It was a sad sight, however, to look upon ; for though as 
many, probably, as a hundred columns are still standing, and 
the course and splendor of the colonnade as a whole may 
readily be imagined ; still here they stand in the midst of 
ploughed fields, and utter loneliness and desertion, and in 
every direction portions of their companions form part of the 
rude walls for terracing up the slopes, or are half buried in 
the ground, or carried off to aid in building the houses in the 
modern town. Truly, a termination to the labors and wealth 
of the sanguinary tyrant Herod the Great, which he never 
anticipated ; and we who come from a far-off land and gaze 
upon the pillars, neither know when they were erected or to 
what edifice they belonged. We do know that he rebuilt the 
city of Samaria, adorned it with magnificent structures, and 
named it, after the emperor Augustus, Sebaste ; # but we 
know little more than this. His wealth and magnificence, 
his power and glory have all faded away, and naught remains 
but the memory of his evil deeds, his murders, his jealousies, 
his awful wickednesses. O, as we turned away and left this 
colonnade to its unbroken solitude, how loathsome appeared 

* HcBolcjtos is the Greek for Augustus ; HePaarfi is the feminine of the same 
adjective, agreeing with tt6\is, city; and hence " Sebaste," the name from which 
we have the present Arabic title, " Sebustieh." 



CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 



427 



the sins and crimes of which the city of Samaria had been 
the witness, the idolatries and abominations of Omri, Ahab 
and Jezebel ; how just the judgments denounced against it 
by Elijah, Ezekiel and the other prophets; how fearful the 
retribution which came upon it about two hundred years after 
its foundation, when Shalmanesar besieged and took it, and 
carried away the people into captivity : how horrible the mur- 
ders and other crimes committed here by Herod, the blood- 
thirsty and jealous tyrant ; and how exact and true the pun- 
ishment which was come upon it for all the evil which it has 
committed on the earth ! 

Before leaving this interesting locality we made an attempt 
to see the interior of the ruins on the east brow of the hill ; 
they are those of a church erected in honor of St. John the 
Baptist, and are among the most prominent and striking 
which can anywhere be met with in the Holy Land. On 
various accounts we hoped to be able to look closely at these 
remains of other days ; but like many travellers before us, we 
were not permitted so to do, and rather esteemed ourselves 
well-off that the fanatical guards and peasantry did not assault 
us for our presumption. As we approached the ruined church 
from the west side, we could not but admire no less the beauty 
of situation than the still remaining evidences of a magnificent 
edifice on this noble mountain-side.* Even at a distance we 
could distinguish clearly the general features of the architec- 
ture, which appears to have been the Byzantine ; the small 
windows, high up from the ground, the beautiful and impo- 

* The reputed sepulchre of Neby Yehya (St. John the Baptist) is under a 
wely in the enclosure of the church ; it is a little chamber excavated deep in 
the rock, to which the descent is by twenty-one steps. There is a tradition, but 
of little value, that the holy Baptist was cast into prison and executed here ; 
whereas. Josephus and after him Eusebius relate that he was beheaded in the 
castle of Machaerus, on the east of the Dead Sea. Tischendorff relates that 
though the firman of the Sultan failed to obtain admittance for him, he succeeded 
in getting in through a window, and beheld the art and skill of the Crusaders 
in adorning the church, the mutilated crosses of St. John upon marble tab- 
lets, &c. 



428 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



sing buttresses, the graceful circling chancel recess, and other 
points attracted our notice and made us wish for time and 
opportunity to examine in detail these interesting ruins ; but 
on approaching nearer by, we saw that the court of the church 
was full of armed peasants lounging about, and it was ne- 
cessary to pass through their mosk situate within the enclo- 
sure, before we could attain our purpose, we felt at once that 
we must forego all attempts of a nature which would embroil 
us with the people. And I may mention here, that it was 
well that we acted as judiciously as we did ; for had we drawn 
up in front of the church, and sought to obtain admission un- 
der the present state of things, we should certainly have been 
grossly insulted and abused, if not treated in a far worse man- 
ner ; I say, certainly, because a party of English friends who 
followed us, and had the same desires with ourselves to visit 
the interior of this ancient church, were set upon by these 
lawless fellows, their bags and portmanteaus were rudely 
hauled over and rifled, themselves called all manner of names, 
and most outrageously pushed about and jeered at, and at 
last suffered to escape only by submitting with admirable pa- 
tience and presence of mind to the importunities of these 
scoundrels for bakhshish, and to their unscrupulous thefts 
before our friends' eyes. 

In our own case, I am quite confident, that from the stir 
in the midst of the fellows in the large court, they were con- 
sulting about an attack, and nothing but our slowly, and yet 
steadily riding onward, neither courting nor fleeing from dan- 
ger, saved us from a disagreeable, and I fear it would have 
proved dangerous rencontre, with the inhabitants of this law- 
less district. We did not, at the time, understand why it 
was, that so many persons were in arms, since it was evident 
that they were not regular troops, belonging to the govern- 
ment ; and it was not till we arrived here at Nazareth, and 
heard various particulars more in detail, that we became 
aware of the true state of things in the central part of Pales- 



DISTURBED STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 429 



tine. The fact is, that the government is weak, and well nigh 
contemptible, and the villages are continually engaged in 
feuds, and broils, and disturbances : only the day after we 
passed, two villages along the line of road were at open war- 
fare, one with the other, and a clerical friend and his com- 
panion fell into that very uncomfortable position, viz., between 
two tires, and managed to escape only by abruptly turning off 
and leaving the field of action to the mutually infuriated com- 
batants. Providentially they soon got out of the range of the 
fire-arms, and after a day's wanderings, they knew not where, 
they lighted upon the road once more, and pursued their jour- 
ney in peace. Such facts as these go far to confirm the 
views expressed a little while ago respecting this portion of the 
Holy Land, where Turkish weakness in the governors, and 
Mohammedan bigotry and quarrelsomeness in the governed, 
keep the country in a state of continual agitation, and mate- 
rially interfere with the safety and comfort of travellers. 

I need not dwell upon the particular features of the road 
from Sebustieh northwards, neither is it important to men- 
tion specially the numerous villages which we passed, but 
which we did not stop to examine, except in rare cases. At 
ten o'clock we were under way again, and riding over a va- 
ried section of country, marked occasionally by steep and high 
hills, but more generally by plains and valleys rich in the 
fruits of the earth, we left the territory of Ephraim, and en- 
tered that belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh. Passing 
Burka, with its olive groves, we traversed a broad plain, saw 
the village of Fendekumieh, having several fountains near it, 
ascended the hills again, passed Jeba (between which village 
and the one last named there was a fierce dispute, and the 
day following a battle), lunched under the olive trees, and at 
half-past twelve reached Sanur, situate on a high conical 
hill. It is a striking object, and even to an unscientific eye, 
wears the appearance of great natural strength, which art 
could easily render impregnable. It is now only a petty vil- 



430 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



lage, the fortifications being in ruins ; but at one time it was 
so strong, as to resist all the force of the notorious Jezzar 
Pasha, with five thousand men, for two months, when he re- 
tired without accomplishing his object. Abdallah Pasha, in 
1830, succeeded in taking the place, after a siege of several 
months, and in order to prevent its being a stronghold in fu- 
ture for rebels, razed the fortress, cut down all the olive trees, 
and left it, as we now saw it, a shapeless heap of ruins. 
Continuing our route over the plain beyond Sanur, which is 
not only very beautiful, encircled as it is by numerous hills, 
but is very fertile and productive, we noticed here and there 
the shallow ponds of water, alluded to by Dr. Robinson, as a 
peculiarity of this plain, or valley, and ascending again the 
hill-sides as we advanced, we were gratified, about two 
o'clock, with a noble view of the region of country towards 
which we were journeying, the mountains, or heights about 
Nazareth forming not the least interesting feature in the 
scene. We rode through the large village of Kubatieh, sur- 
rounded by its extensive and fruitful olive groves, and wind- 
ing our way through a deep, stony valley, we arrived at 
Jenin at four o'clock. Here we determined to halt for the 
day, and selecting a gentle rise west of the town, we pitched 
our tent, and prepared to make ourselves comfortable for the 
night. But we were not allowed to do so without remon- 
strance : first some of the town's-people came and annoyed us 
very much by staring into the tent, putting their hands upon 
things, trying to frighten us with horrible tales of robbers, 
&c, and warning us of the necessity of having additional 
guards ; we, however, paid no attention to them, leaving An- 
tonio to settle the matter in his own way. Now it so hap- 
pened, that this worthy, a year ago, had met with an adven- 
ture here, which he is not likely soon to forget. It appears 
that he was induced to take guards at Jenin, as it is the usual 
plan ; they were furnished by the governor, and of course, 
supposed to be trustworthy ; but during the night they man- 



ANTONIO AND THE JENIN PEOPLE. 



431 



aged to steal — not of his master — but of Antonio himself, to 
the amount of about a hundred dollars : the next clay, on 
complaint being made, the governor had the thieves arrested, 
promised redress, talked round and round, and ended by doing 
nothing ; and so Antonio was compelled to leave Jenin, be- 
lieving in his heart (and I confess I am not a whit more 
charitable), that the rascally governor had pocketed the prin- 
cipal share of his hundred dollars ! Of course our dragoman 
did not feel very amiable when he reached Jenin again ; nay, 
so far from this, he sent off very summarily, the applicants 
for posts as guards, and had the audacity to give the governor 
a piece of his mind, as to the rascality of Jenin and its people 
in general, and its chief officer in particular. He absolutely 
refused to have any one about, and announced his determina- 
tion to watch all night himself, a plan to which we had no 
sort of objection, believing ourselves as safe without as with 
the so-called guards. A large caravan came up before even- 
ing, and placed itself in our vicinity ; and saving a shot or two, 
fired most probably to frighten us, during the night, and the 
unusually loud croaking of frogs in a pond near by, every- 
thing passed off quietly and satisfactorily, and the people of 
Jenin got nothing out of us of any kind, except Antonio's 
pointed and well-deserved objurgations. 

The town of Jenin, answering to the Ginaea of Josephus, 
is pleasantly and picturesquely situated on a side hill, and 
from the road looks very well ; there are several domes, 
minarets, &c, quite prominent and really pretty in the dis- 
tance ; clos^ to the walls, too, are numerous gardens, en- 
closed with the thorny cactus, and abounding in fruits and 
flowers. But probably its greatest attraction in our eyes, is 
the fact, that from its elevated site, you can look abroad over 
that noble and far-famed plain of Esdraelon, stretching away 
to a very great distance, and lying spread out, in all its ver- 
dant beauty and richness, to the delighted and wondering 
gaze of the traveller. I can but feebly express to you my 



432 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



emotions, as the next morning, bright and early, we bade 
adieu to Jenin, the ill-favored and inhospitable town, and 
entered upon the plain of Esdraelon : it was not merely the 
marvellous change from a hilly region, ofttimes sterile, sad, 
and gloomy, to the widely- extended, fertile and magnificent 
plain over which lay our route ; it was something more ; for, 
around this plain are situate some of the most interesting 
places noticed in Holy Writ, and on Esdraelon have been 
fought the battles of century after century. Gilboa, Jezreel, 
Shunem, Nain, Endor, Tabor, Nazareth, Carmel, the Kishon, 
Megiddo, — what deep and stirring thoughts do they excite in 
the mind ? Deborah and Barak, Gideon the mighty man of 
valor, Saul and Jonathan, the Maccabees, the Romans, the 
Saracens, the Crusaders, the gallant Kleber, Napoleon, — 
what memories of other days do these names call up ;* and 
who that crosses this great battle-ground of ages, can do it 
without emotions, or without a fervent prayer for the speedy 
and entire sway of the Prince of Peace ? 

Our course was nearly north after leaving Jenin ; and 
though we rode at a tolerably good pace, we were between 
three and a half and four hours in crossing the plain ; a fact 
which may help to give you some idea of its vast extent. I 
shall fail, however, in attempting to convey to you anything 
of a clear conception of the fertility and beauty of the plain 
of Esdraelon, as we have seen it under its present aspect; 
when the waving fields of grain, giving promise of a rich har- 
vest, are around and about you at every step ; when you be- 

* " Tt has been a chosen place for encampment in every contest carried on in 
this country, from the days of Nabuchodonosor, king of the Assyrians (in the 
history of whose war with Arphaxad it is mentioned as the great plain of 
Esdrelom), until the disastrous march of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt into 
Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Christian Crusaders, and anti-Christian 
Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks, and Arabs, warriors out of 
every nation that is under heaven, have pitched their tents upon the plain of 
Esdraelon, and have beheld the various banners of their nations wet with the 
dews of Tabor and of Hermon." — Dr. Clarke's " Travels in Greece, Egypt ," &c. 
ch. xv. 



THE GREAT PLAIN OF ESDRAELON. 433 



hold the plantations of cotton here and there, the patches or 
fields of durah or millet,*' the banks and beds of streams and 
of rivulets which go to fill up, at certain seasons, " that an- 
cient river, the river Kishon ;" and when you look around you 
at the hills and mountains which everywhere greet the eye, 
and seem as it were to be keeping watch and ward over this 
great valley. Bear with me, then, if I do not attempt to de- 
scribe in detail, but simply to tell you of our progress across 
the plain, even to the resting-place where I am now writing. 
On our left we had a glimpse of the village which Dr. Robin- 
son thinks is identical with the Taanach of Scripture, and to 
the north-west of this we could distinguish the site of El 
Lejjun, Legio or Megiddo of Holy Writ; while still farther 
in the same direction the blue outline of Carmel's range 
bounded the view. On our right, the heights of Gil boa were 
plainly visible ; and passing several small villages, we arrived 
at Zerin at a quarter before nine. This, there is little doubt, 
is the ancient Jezreel, and is a very interesting and not un- 
lovely spot, situate, as it is, on a small and slightly elevated 
conical hill, only a short distance from our road. Its con- 
nection with Gideon, the mighty warrior, on whom the 
Spirit of the Lord came and who fought so successfully 
against the Midianites and Amalekites, and the children of 
the East; with Ahab and Jezebel, his wicked wife, whose 
horrible end is related in the Word of God; with Jehu, the 
zealous avenger of God's truth ; with Elijah, the holy 
prophet of Jehovah; and in later days with the Christian 

* " The great valley of Esdraelon is certainly the plain most remarkable, both 

physically and historically, in the Holy Land We observed far 

more culture in the great valley, in general, than the accounts of travellers had 
led us to expect. We were rather surprised at this, when we adverted to the 
paucity of agricultural villages in our view. The crops which are raised in it 
are of barley, wheat, millet, beans, chick-peas', sesamum, lentiles, flax and 
cotton. Wild oats, too, are found growing among the fields of grass, or rather 
herbs, of which very little care is taken. The valley through the whole of its 
extent, as far as it appeared to our view, is nearly destitute of trees of every 
kind." — Wilson's " Lands of the Bible" vol. ii. p. 84, 85. 



434 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



and Saracen hosts ; — its connection with these I need not 
enlarge upon, much as I should desire to tell you of the 
many reflections and musings to which this famous city 
gave rise in our minds, while we were journeying over the 
plain. Neither may I now stop to dwell upon Solam, the 
ancient Shunem, near to which on our right we passed, at a 
quarter past ten o'clock ; though the prophet's miraculous 
power here displayed might well induce us to pause; nor 
even upon Nain, the city where our Blessed Lord was moved 
with divine compassion and raised the widow's son to life ; 
much and deeply as we felt the fulness of His never-failing 
compassion and mercy, and much as we were affected by 
gazing upon the very site of that event so touchingly related 
by the Evangelist.* when He said to the bereaved mother, 
" Weep not ;" and when, having called back the dead again 
to life, He delivered him to his mother, and caused all who 
saw or heard of what He did to be filled with fear and rever- 
ence towards God. Our path led us over a part of this 
plain celebrated for a far different scene ; for, about fifty 
years ago, between the two villages, Fuleh and Afuleh, close to 
which we just now rode, was fought a famous battle between 
Kleber, with his little band of fifteen hundred men, and the 
whole force of the Turkish army, amounting to at least 
twenty-five thousand. To those who admire such things it 
must have been a grand sight to witness the brave French- 
men, drawn up into a square, fighting from sunrise to mid- 
day, against such fearful odds ; to see the idol of the army, 
Napoleon, dashing over the plain with a few hundred men to 
his aid ; to mark the panic, precipitate flight and total rout 
of the Turks; to trace the rapid steps of that great warrior 
who, after this exploit, dined at Nazareth, and returned the 
same day to Akka ; and such like ; but I love not to dwell 
upon these things, especially when so near the very spot 



* Luke vii. 11, &c. 



J 

ASCENT OF MOUNT TABOR. 435 

where He, our Lord, restored the dead to life, and left the 
impress of peace and good-will upon the hearts of men. 

Continuing our course over the plain, we skirted the 
western base of Jebel ed-Duhy, or the Little Hermon, and 
bending towards the east, had in full view Jebel et-Tor, or 
Mount Tabor. It is one of the most striking objects in 
Palestine, and rises up to a great height above the plain : its 
shape is conical, and being clothed with verdure, shrubbery, 
and trees, even to the very top, it presents itself to the eye 
as remarkable for its beauty as its commanding importance 
in a military point of view. We arrived at the foot of Tabor 
at half-past twelve, and choosing a convenient place under 
the shady trees near its base, we lunched and enjoyed the 
delightful prospect spread out before us. We concluded that 
we would pass the rest of the day here, in examining the 
mountain and its vicinity, and antiquities : so, after reposing 
awhile and leaving our muleteers to pitch the tent, we set 
off at two o'clock to make the ascent. For a time we could 
not find the road, but wandered about amid the trees and 
bushes, and stumbled over the rocks and stones ; but our 
guide, who was ashamed at our discovering his ignorance, 
bustled about and soon succeeded in getting into the right 
path : it is very winding, necessarily so, on account of the 
steepness of the mountain-side ; but it is all the better and 
pleasanter to the traveller, since it opens to him so many 
charming views as he gets higher and higher. We were 
little more than an hour in riding up the side of Tabor over 
a road, sometimes paved, and constructed with care, on the 
slope of the mountains, but more generally very uneven, 
rocky, and not devoid of danger to the unwary traveller : we 
did not see any of the wild boars or leopards which are said 
by some writers to he occasionally found here ; all was still 
and silent and deserted ; and had it not been for the groves 
of oak, the pistacio or turpentine trees, the laurel and thick 
bushes and waving grass, all along the pathway and sur- 



436 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

rounding the whole mount, it would have been a gloomy and 
a dreary ride indeed. As we came near the top, we looked 
with much interest upon the numerous remains of fortifica- 
tions which formerly existed here, and our thoughts were 
carried back to the period when Mount Tabor was one of 
the very strongest fortresses in all Palestine. Unscientific 
as I am in everything relative to military matters, I could 
not but perceive that naturally Tabor possessed all the ele- 
ments of strength, and I could well understand how tho 
hand of art was enabled to render it impregnable : in such 
point of view it was, no doubt, regarded in early times ; for 
here we now see the strong foundation walls of a fortress, 
and the remains of towers, trenches, vaults, cisterns, gate- 
ways, &c. Even more remarkable did these ruins appear 
when we had actually gained the summit and had gone over 
it slowly and carefully ; for, somewhat to our surprise, we 
found the top of Mount Tabor to be much more extensive 
than we had been led to expect, and in every direction we 
beheld the evidences of the care, skill, and labor, bestowed 
upon fortifying this remarkable mount. At present, how- 
ever, it is desolate and abandoned by man ; the wild oats are 
growing in abundance, the bushes and shrubbery are fast 
covering up the rubbish and ruins scattered about, the grass, 
with its green mantle, has almost obliterated the evidences 
of human skill and human ingenuity ; and now no more is 
heard, the shrill trump of war, the martial tread of thou- 
sands and tens of thousands, the shouting for battle, and 
such like things : the chirping of the birds, and the mourn- 
ful whispering of the winds amid the trees, are all that now 
greet the traveller on Tabor's summit. 

And yet we enjoyed our visit more than I can adequately 
express ; for notwithstanding the desolation of Tabor, com- 
pared with its glory onoe, in other days, we beheld there 
what man has neither given nor can take away — the glorious 
view of the surrounding country, which is unsurpassed in all 



THE VIEW FROM TABOR. 437 

Palestine. I would that I possessed the power of graphic de- 
scription, that I might tell you of what we saw from the sum- 
mit of this noble mount, and how deeply the beauty and 
splendor of the scene are written in our choicest recollec- 
tions. How grandly loomed up in the far distance, to the 
north, the snow-crowned Jebel es-Sheikh, the Hermon of 
Scripture ! How picturesque appeared the hills and moun- 
tains to the north-east and the east, beyond and on this side 
the silvery Jordan, which springs out of their very bosom ! 
How lovely seemed that lake, of all others most interesting 
to the Christian's heart, the Lake of Tiberias, a part of which 
we could plainly see ! How noble, toward the south, looked 
the valley of the Jordan, Gilead, Gilboa, the Little Hermon, 
and the charming vales between! But how surpassingly 
beautiful, which I cannot find words rightly to express, was 
the scene in the west, as, at this commanding elevation, some 
fifteen hundred feet above the plain, * we looked down upon 
Esdraelon, in all its glory and magnificent verdure, its extent, 
its fertility, its loveliness, its surrounding hills, its streams 
and rivulets, its river, the Kishon, and its many, many points 
of attractiveness ! Believe me, I stood as it were entranced 
on the steep brow of Tabor, and beheld this scene with emo- 
tions too deep for utterance. 

It was a deeply-interesting hour which we spent on the 
summit of Tabor, in reflecting upon the scene of our Lord's 
transfiguration, occurring, as it did, according to early tradi- 
tion, on this very mountain. We felt all the force of the ob- 
jections urged by Dr. Robinson and others against this 
locality, on the score of its having been fortified, and more or 
less covered with buildings and dwellings of various sorts: 
and yet, though by no means strenuous on the point, 1 felt 
that the transfiguration might have taken place on one of the 

* Some authorities give the height of Tabor as 3000 ft. ; Dr. Wilson thinks 
it less than 1000 ft., in which he agrees with Dr. Robinson : the height given in 
the text agrees nearly with Schubert's barometrical measurement of Tabor. 



438 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



retired and woody slopes of Tabor, somewhere near its sum- 
mit, even though it was in general devoted to the purposes of 
a town and fortress. I would by no means insist upon the 
correctness of the view entertained for centuries past, that 
this is the mountain, aax id Lav, referred to by the Evangelist, 
when he tells us that " after six days, Jesus taketh with Him 
Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high 
mountain apart by themselves,"* and that there He was 
transfigured before them ; since it is not certainly correct, and 
" the tradition is not so ancient and clear as to warrant our re- 
ceiving it without hesitation, when the strong reasons urged 
by Dr. Robinson against it are duly considered. Still, 
musing upon that great event in our Lord's life and ministry, 
and remembering the gracious words which were then utter- 
ed "in the holy mount," " when there came such a voice to 
Him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased;" " hear ye Him ;"t I could not but 
wish that the tradition might be correct, and that I too might 
be worshipping my Lord and my God from the very mountain 
consecrated by His presence, and the glory of His transfigur- 
ation. On the whole, you will let me, I trust, adopt the 
sentiments of a recent German traveller : " Even were the 
tradition in error, it would be difficult to renounce it ; for 
the mountain to which it clings stands like a moment of 
inspiration, transformed into an earthly form, and deposited 
as a memorial-stone by God, in the creation, as the altar of 
the land, which itself is a temple of God. He who sees it at 
the present day, believes, as firmly as if an angel had told 
him, that the beautiful mountain, whose brothers stand at a 
distance, as if in admiration, bears a sacred mystery within 
it, and has been sacredly endowed by Him who made it so 
splendid. But it has displayed its mystery, it has fulfilled 
its object, if it indeed was the scene of the transfiguration of 
the Son of God. Fifteen centuries have celebrated the mem- 



* Mark ix. 2. 



f 2 Pet. i. 17, 18 ; Matt. xvii. 5. 



RECOLLECTIONS OP TABOR. 



439 



ory of this transfiguration upon Mount Tabor. How many 
a sword, since gray antiquity, has glittered upon it, and 
aroused the bloody contest ! How many an eye has beamed 
from it aloft to heaven, and supplicated the peace of God !"* 

Late in the afternoon, we reached our tent again, after a 
toilsome and unpleasant descent ; and reposing under the 
shade of a large oak-tree, we strove to take in the reality of 
the things with which we had been brought into close con- 
nection. For myself, I found it a very interesting occupa- 
tion, to show our dragoman the very passages of Scripture in 
relation to Mount Tabor, and to witness his astonishment, 
Christian though he is nominally, at finding in the Bible 
what is there written. I do not recollect ever to have had a 
more attentive listener than Antonio proved to be, while I read 
to him and told him about Barak and his ten thousand men, 
marching down from the heights of Tabor into the plain ; about 
Deborah the Prophetess, in whose days the highways were 
unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways ; about 
Sisera and his nine hundred chariots of iron, and the multi- 
tude of his host; and about the great battle on the plain be- 
fore our eyes, when the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his 
army, when " the stars in their courses fought against Sise- 
ra," and when "the river Kishon swept them away — that 
ancient river, the river Kishon."! Oh, it was a time not to 
be forgotten, when, on Tabor's slope, perhaps in the very path 
pursued by Barak and Deborah, on this memorable occasion, 
we sat and read aloud the song of victory, which, ages ago, 
was chanted to the honor and glory of Jehovah ! — " So let all 
thine enemies perish, O Lord ; but let them that love Him 
be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might." 

The next morning, at half-past five o'clock, we left our 
encampment, and set out for the Sea of Gennesareth. Pass- 
ing round the northerly base of Tabor, through a lovely and 
fertile vale, at half-past six we reached two strongly fortified 

* Tischendorff's "Travels in the East" p. 235. t Judges, v. 20, 21. 



440 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



khans, one on each side of the road. They are mostly in 
ruins now, but were formerly, beyond a doubt, posts of import- 
ance, and commanded this portion of the great caravan route 
between Egypt and Damascus. Passing the khans, we rode 
over a broad fertile plain, for two hours, passing some few 
villages, and being struck with the appearance of the wild 
artichoke, called khob, with its thorny, violet-colored flower 
in the shape of an artichoke, upon a stem five feet in height. 
Very possibly, this may have been the flower alluded to by 
our Lord, when He spoke of " the lilies of the field," as so glo- 
rious and beautiful. On the road, we met with wells, oc- 
casionally, having large, thick stones over their mouths. We 
found the water very cold, too much so to permit us to drink 
of it under the intensely hot sun of this season in Syria. At 
eight, we had on our left, not far off, that peculiar-looking, 
horn-shaped hill or mountain, Jebel Hattin, renowned for the 
battle fought there in 1187, when the Crescent triumphed 
over the Cross, and the power of the Crusaders was broken 
and destroyed in Palestine. For a graphic description of this 
disastrous battle, let me refer you to Dr. Robinson's "Bibli- 
cal Researches," vol. iii. p. 241-249 ; it is related with more 
than the usual power of the learned author's historical sum- 
maries, and will well repay perusal. Soon after, we reached 
the brow of that chain of hills which enclose, on this side, the 
beautiful Lake of Tiberias ; and winding down their slopes 
and steeps, at half-past nine we arrived at the town of Tibe- 
rias, situate a little to the south of the centre of the lake's 
western shore, and on the water's edge. Tubarieh is certainly 
a miserable and lifeless place, offering little to interest the 
traveller, except it be that here several hundred Jews reside, 
and — most marvellous of all — here is a new hotel, for the ac- 
commodation of visitors! From what we saw of the town 
internally, and from what we had heard, we felt no disposi- 
tion to test the goodness of the new hotel, notwithstanding 
the proprietor's son, a black-eyed Jewish boy, beset us, and plead 



THE SEA OF TIBERIAS. 



441 



long and earnestly with us to enter the grand dwelling, assuring 
us that the whole house was at our command — a fact which 
we had no reason to doubt, seeing how dreary and desolate 
the whole town appeared. In truth, never since the earth- 
quake, in 1837, has Tiberias recovered its former condition; 
and not only do the walls plainly show, in their rents and 
breaches, the effects of that visitation, but the surviving in- 
habitants wear still the marks of a grievous calamity, in their 
poverty-stricken and woe-begone appearance, and their listless 
habits and manners. It may well be doubted whether, con- 
sidering their present depressed condition and the half-ruinous 
state of the walls of the town, the citizens and the few sol- 
diers here stationed could make much head against an attack 
of the Arabs * 

You will readily enter into our feelings as we stood on the 
shore of the beautiful lake of Tiberias, tasted its sweet water, 
gazed upon its clear expanse, and called to mind its frequent 
connection with the history of our Lord and Saviour. Inde- 
pendently of its great natural beauty, embosomed amid the 
hills, it has recollections of a kind and character which make 
the deepest impression upon the Christian heart. How often 
was He, the Redeemer, a dweller upon the shores of the lake 
of Gennesareth : how often was He upon its waters, crossing 
and recrossing its placid bosom : how frequently He taught 
the people on its banks ; and on how many occasions did He 
exert His divine power on its shores, in healing the sick, 
cleansing the leper, and making the blind to see and the 
deaf to hear. From its vicinity, He chose His Apostles ; 
those honest and simple-minded fishermen, whose memories 
we reverence : here, He walked on the water, and saved from 
sinking into its deeps the sanguine Peter ; here, He lay down 
in the boat and slept when the storm came down on the lake, 

* For an interesting account of Tiberias and its history, including that of its 
celebrated schools of Jewish learning, allow me to refer you to Dr. Wilson's 
;t Lands of the Bible," vol. ii. p. 115-122. 

19 



442 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND 

and when, on being awaked by His terrified disciples, He 
arose and rebuked the wind and • the sea, and there was a 
great calm ; here, He gave the miraculous draught of fishes ; 
and here, after His resurrection, He showed Himself on the 
shore, ate and drank with His disciples, and delivered those 
touching charges unto Peter, and through him to the rest of 
the Apostles, and to the ministry of His Church in all ages. 
Ah, how different now the scene ! the villages and towns on 
the borders of this lake, the activity and bustle on its shores, 
the numerous boats and vessels on its waters, are no more ; 
and now silence and deadness brood over everything : not a 
solitary sail, not a boat of any description did we see ; and 
all business, all trade and commerce, have ceased utterly. 
Most solemn seemed the words of our Lord, as we looked 
upon the present aspect of this beautiful lake and the few, 
scant ruins of the flourishing villages and cities which once 
here existed : — " Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein 
most of His mighty works were done, because they repented 
not: woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! 
for if the mighty works which were done in you had been 
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago 
in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for 
you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, 
shalt be brought down to hell : for if the mighty works which 
have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would 
have remained until this day." # Is it not a startling consid- 
eration for Christian nations and people that the privileges 
which they enjoy, and which they despise and use not, shall 
at the day of judgment, stand in array against them ; and 
because they have not repented and turned away from their 
sins, when God has called them by His Holy Word and 
His ministering servants, their lot and condition in the last 
day shall be more terrible than that of the guilty cities of 

* Matt. xi. 20-24. 



APPEARANCE OF THE LAKE. 



443 



the plain, on whom the Lord rained down fire and brimstone 
in the day of His wrath ? 

As we were desirous to reach Nazareth before night, so as 
to be able to rest there on the morrow, or Lord's Day, we did 
not undertake to explore the shores of the lake for the few 
remnants of the villages mentioned in the New Testament : 
after resting awhile under the shadow of the northern wall — 
and, by the way, being satisfied by the evidence of two senses 
at least, that the king of the fleas does indeed hold his court 
at Tubarieh — we remounted at eleven o'clock, and turned our 
faces towards the west. The day was intensely hot, and as 
there was not a particle of wind to mitigate the force of the 
sun's rays, we had the full benefit of a temperature more try- 
ing than anything which I have ever experienced, not except- 
ing on the borders of Nubia, or in the deep caldron of the 
Dead Sea and its vicinity. In the course of half an hour, 
we had reached the hills again, and looking back upon the 
lovely lake once more, could not but stop a few minutes to 
admire its beauty. In several respects it is not unlike some 
of the Swiss and Italian lakes, but it has besides features of 
its own ; though situate among the hills and mountains, and 
though most picturesquely beautiful on this very account, 
there is a peculiarity about the scene unlike what we behold 
in Europe ; there, we see life, industry, and a busy population 
rejoicing in the good gifts of Almighty God ; but here, where 
shall we find the people ? Where shall we look for the thou- 
sands and tens of thousands which once lived and labored on 
the banks and on the waters of this quiet lake ? In Swit- 
zerland, as well as in our own highly favored land, the 
lakes and inland seas are surrounded by hills and fields 
of verdant beauty and fertility ; but here, as we now look 
upon it, the eastern shore of the lake has nothing of verdure, 
and presents only a bright red, naked precipice, which con- 
trasts strangely, and almost solemnly with the blue mirror 
beneath ; while the western bank, though in many spots fer- 



444 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



tile, and lovely to the eye, is still neglected as a whole, and 
like a land keeping her sabbaths for the wickedness of the 
people that dwelt therein. With one long and steadfast gaze, 
and with one more supplication to Him, who once trod its 
banks, and sailed over its waters, for grace and strength, I 
bade adieu to the Sea of Tiberias, and hastened onward tow- 
ard our proposed haven at Nazareth. 

I shall not attempt, on the present occasion, to de- 
scribe, with any particularity, the road over which we 
travelled, but shall simply say, that at half-past twelve we 
passed Lubieh ; at three we reached Kefr Kenna, the Cana of 
tradition, though rejected by Dr. Robinson ; rested a little 
while under a fig-tree ; ascended the high hills on the road, 
from whence we saw the Mediterranean in the distance ; and 
at half-past four descended the last of the hills, into the val- 
ley where this retired town is situate. The village looks 
well as approached from this direction, and being on a side- 
hill, about half-way from the top to the lowest point in the 
valley, and looking towards the east, it lay spread out before 
us in its most attractive garb. We particularly noticed the 
tall minaret which rises out of the centre of the town, the 
large monastery of the Latins, the few palms and cypresses in 
close proximity, the solidly built houses, &o. Perhaps there ■ 
may be something of fancy in the idea, but we could not 
help thinking that there was a different air about this 
Christian town and region from that which prevails in the 
neighborhood of Samaria : the people seemed to us to be 
more humanized ; they did not give us such lowering looks as 
we had met with in the central portion of Palestine ; and 
they appeared to us to smile and bid us welcome, as Christians, 
to a Christian city. A little way out of the town, properly 
speaking, is a large and abundantly supplied well, termed the 
Well of Mary, because it is said — and that truly, I believe- 
that the Blessed Virgin here came for water during the many 
years that she lived with her husband in Nazareth : it lay 



TRADITIONS OF NAZARETH. 



445 



directly in our road, and when we came near to it, a pictur- 
esque scene met our eyes. The young maidens of the village, 
clad in gay attire, and laughing merrily, had come out to the 
fount for water ; they filled their jars, placed them on 
their heads, and looking pleasantly at the strangers, walked 
away, erect, of fine forms, and some of them possessing beau- 
tiful features. In justice to ourselves, I must mention, that 
the same idea respecting the people of this region, had occur- 
red to others of our friends, whom we have met at the Casa 
Nuova of the Latin convent ; and they quite agree with us, 
that the Christian village, or city of Nazareth, is vastly more 
agreeable than any into which they have been since they left 
the Holy City : # if it be a delusion, it is at least a harmless 
and pleasant one, and it served to render more tolerable the 
excessive fatigues of this long and hot day's journeyings. 

I shall not weary you, my dear S., with dwelling upon 
many of the mere idle traditions in and about Nazareth : it 
needs not that I tell you of the reputed work-shop of Joseph, 
the carpenter, where our Saviour is supposed to have wrought 
at the same trade ; of the large block of stone, which report 
says was the table on which He ate with His disciples ; of 
the garden in which He is said to have taken special delight 
when a boy ; and many more : I shall pass them all over ; 
and as my .letter has already reached to a great length, I 
shall simply speak of one or two matters of real interest, and 
then close the present epistle. We have been privileged to 
spend the Lord's Day here in this interesting town, and as 
there was an English clergyman present, we had the services 
of the church quietly to ourselves, in the large room appro- 
priated to the uses of strangers and travellers. Later in the 
day, we visited the Church of the Annunciation, built over 
the supposed grottot where the angel was sent to announce 

* The population of Nazareth is about three thousand, perhaps more ; of 
these three-fourths are Christians, 
f The judicious Maundrell, to whose accuracy and fidelity I am happy to add 



446 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



the tidings with which he was charged, to the trusting and 
faithful handmaiden of the Lord, even Mary, of the house and 
lineage of David. We were struck more with the evident 
fervor and depth of devotion manifested by many of the con- 
gregation, during the mass, than with the grotto itself ; for, 
though it is possible that this cave may be the scene of that 
event which it is said to commemorate, I am not disposed to 
place much reliance upon the tradition respecting it ; and am 
vastly more interested in the Christian state and condition of 
the people who here worship God, and here call upon His 
name. The excessive devotion of those who went down the 
steps into the cave, and prostrate, kissed the bare stones, with 
tears of emotion in their eyes, was rather painful than other- 
wise to my feelings ; but I was, I confess, touched with sym- 
pathy, when I saw how well the young joined in the service, 
and how, notwithstanding the manifest errors and supersti- 
tions of the Romish creed, they seemed to me to be influenced 
by the spirit of that Gospel, of which, indeed, they know lit- 
tle or nothing, compared with the privileges of this kind which 

my feeble testimony, has some pertinent remarks in connection with the frequent 
attributing of holy events and scenes to caves and the like, which I beg to 
quote : he is speaking of some grottoes on Tabor, and says, " I cannot forbear 
to mention, in this place, an observation which is very obvious to all that visit 
the Holy Land, viz., that almost all passages and histories related in the Gos- 
pel are represented by them that undertake to show where everything was done, 
as having been done most of them in grottoes, and that even in such cases where 
the condition and the circumstances of the actions themselves seem to require 
places of another nature. Thus, if you would see the place where St. Anne 
was delivered of the blessed Virgin, you are carried to a grotto ; if the place of 
the Annunciation, it is also a grotto ; if the place where the blessed Virgin 
saluted Elisabeth; if that of the Baptist's, or that of our blessed Saviour's na- 
tivity ; if that of the Agony, or that of St. Peter's repentance, or that where the 
Apostles made the Creed, or this of the Transfiguration, all these places are also 
grottoes; and, in a word, wherever you go, you find almost everything repre- 
sented as done under ground. Certainly, grottoes were anciently held in great 
esteem, or else they could never have been assigned, in spite of all probability, 
for the places in which were done so many various actions. Perhaps it was 
the hermits' way of living in grottoes from the fifth or sixth century downward, 
that has brought them ever since to be in so great reputation." — Maundrell's 
" Journey," &c, April 19th. 



VIEW FROM THE HILL OF NAZARETH. 



447 



we enjoy. It is charity, I trust,, to hope that God may bless 
them even in their ignorance, — not for their ignorance, but for 
the docile and humble spirit, which, even in their ignorance, 
they manifest. 

Late in the afternoon of the Lord's Day, we rode up the 
lofty hill, on the side of which Nazareth is situate. We no- 
ticed more than one place, as we ascended, where the precip- 
itous rocks are striking, and fearful enough to have been the 
very spot spoken of by the Evangelist, on that memorable 
occasion, when our Lord's words of truth and power so exas- 
perated the people of Nazareth, that they " were rilled with 
wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city, and led 
Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, 
that they might cast Him down headlong."* In a country 
like this, where the passions of the people are very quick, 
fierce and vindictive, it is not difficult to imagine a scene 
such as that was, when their rage was disappointed and the 
blessed Saviour passed through their midst and went His 
way, leaving the ungrateful citizens of Nazareth to the just 
deprivation of the inestimable privilege of having Him in their 
midst. After a circuitous but pleasant ride, we reached the 
summit of the hill, and were more than repaid for any fatigue 
in the ascent by the beautiful panoramic view which we 
there enjoyed. . Toward the north and east lay the hill country 
of Syria and Galilee, with the snow- clad Hermon towering 
up grandly over all, and the lovely valley of the Jordan, Mount 
Tabor in the distance, and the lesser hills and heights which 
bound the plain of Esdraelon ; to the south the magnificent 
plain itself stretched away in the distance, incomparably 
beautiful as it lay encircled amid the distant hills and mounts 
which bound it on every side : in the west were plainly visible 
Carmel's lofty range, and the Mediterranean's bright deep 
blue mirror ; while almost at our very feet the picturesque 
village of Nazareth formed, as it were, our home, on which 
* Luke, iv. 28, 29. 



448 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



we loved to gaze with a fondness that home only can inspire. 
It was near sunset when we first looked upon this splendid 
panorama, and we could not forbear standing in silence near 
the neglected wely of Neby Ismail and watching the glorious 
orb of day as gradually it sank behind Carmel's Mount and 
kissed the blue waters of the Great Sea. Nay, so attractive 
was this spot, and this hour, when the heavens were illu- 
mined with gorgeous magnificence, changing too at every 
few moments ; and so full of thought was the place where we 
may not doubt our Lord Himself often came to meditate and 
to pray, during the days and years when He was subject unto 
His parents ; that I could not for a long time tear myself away . 
How full of inspiring thoughts is every spot in and about 
Nazareth ; for here our Lord passed the days of His childhood 
and youth, and manhood, even until He was thirty years old. 
How often must He have wandered about these hills, and 
rambled over these plains; how frequently must He have 
trodden the streets of Nazareth, drunk of the sweet water at 
the well-known fountain, eaten of the fruits of the garden and 
the field, rested under the palms, and looked upon the glori- 
ous sunsets from off this lofty hill ; how sweetly submissive 
and tender His obedience ; how entire His yielding to the 
authority of His mother and reputed father ; how lovely and 
of good report His every word and act ! Ah, most blessed 
Saviour of my soul, on my bended knees I adore Thee ; pros- 
trate on the earth I supplicate Thee, that I may be enabled to 
follow in the steps of Thy most holy life, and may ever seek 
to do Thy will only, even as it was Thy good pleasure ever 
to do the will of Him who sent Thee; unto whom, with Thee 
and the Holy Ghost, one eternal Jehovah, both now and 
ever, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen. 

It is enough; words cannot image forth the deep and fervent 
emotions of a penitent sinner's soul, when he is permitted to 
tread the very sacred spots where his Redeemer's holy feet 
once touched the earth : speech cannot convey the longing 



MUSINGS AND ASPIRATIONS. 



449 



desires of the devout pilgrim to know, in all its richness, the 
love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, as he kneels and 
prays near the very places hallowed by our Lord's presence 
in the days of His flesh : O how weak and very nothingness 
is mortal man ! how inexpressibly great and glorious the Lord 
our God ! Yes, most true is it, 

<! I lose 

Myself in Him, in Light Ineffable ! 

Come, then, expressive silence, muse His praise." 



LETTER XXI. 



J&ount €armel— St Sean K* &cre— SCgre. 

The Value of the Hospices at Nazareth and other Points in the Holy Land.— Country between 
Nazareth and Carmel.— Cross the Kishon.— Not Large River.— Haifa.— In Depressed Con- 
dition. — Ascent of Mount Carmel. — Two Days Sojourn at the Hospice. — Excellence of the Ac- 
commodations. — Brother Clement.— Brief Notice of Giovanni Battista, the Architect and 
Founder of the Present Edifice.— His Labors and Success.— Exploration of the Building.— 
The Chapel, Library, &c— Scriptural Recollections of Carmel.— Departure on the 25th inst. 
—Cross the Kishon. — Amusing Scene.— The Kiver Belus. — Akka as it now is.— Exclusion 
through the Town. — Mosk of the Butcher Pasha. — Recollections of the Past connected with 
Akka— Departure.— Ez-Zib — Plain to the North.— Ras en-Nakura— Encamp on the Hill.— 
Ruins of Scandalium.— Promontorium Album.— The "Ladder of Tyre."— Picturesque 
View. — Ras el-Ain. — Description of the Reservoirs from Maundrell. — Approach to Sur or 
Tyre.— Its Desolate Appearance.— Striking Fulfilment of Prophecy.— Present Condition of 
the Town. — The Ruins of the Cathedral of Paulinus. — Ichnography of the Ancient Church. 
—Description.— Abstract of the History of Tyre.— The Certainty of Retribution. 

Tyre, April 26th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It would be equally unjust and unbecoming not to ex- 
press the kindly feelings which we, in common with all 
travellers in Palestine, entertain towards the hospitable 
monks of the convent at Nazareth ; and while I am deeply 
sensible of the errors and corruptions of that Church which 
claims supremacy over the Christian world, I have a settled 
conviction that there are many noble illustrations of the 
power of Divine grace in its midst; there are many beauti- 
ful examples within its pale of the brotherly love, the kind- 
ness, the hospitality, and other virtues of our holy religion. 
The monks at Nazareth, as at Bethlehem and Mount Car- 
mel, make it a duty to entertain strangers and travellers, if 



THE HOSPITABLE MONKS. 



451 



poor, without money and without price ; if rich, leaving it to 
them to bestow what they choose in furtherance of the 
charity which they are enjoying. No one, except he has 
been in the East, and experienced the entire absence of all 
public accommodations for the traveller, and been thrown 
entirely upon his own resources, especially in the hours of 
sickness and pain, can fully comprehend, not onlf the great 
value, but the peculiarly grateful and cheering character of 
the hospitality thus extended to all alike, the rich, the poor, 
the noble, the peasant, the protestant, the infidel, — in short, 
to men of all religions and all classes. Be assured that we 
shall ever entertain the most kindly recollections towards the 
good fathers of the Latin convent at Nazareth, for we en- 
joyed their hospitality and witnessed their charitable atten- 
tion to the sick and distressed, during the two days and 
nights that we spent under their roof. 

Very early on the morning of the 23d inst, we bade adieu 
to the venerable monk who had at that time the Casa Nuova 
in charge, and turning our faces westwardly set off in the 
direction of Mount Carmel. For some considerable time, 
we rode over the hills and through the valleys and meadows 
which lie in the neighborhood of Nazareth : at six o'clock, 
just as the sun began to illumine with it* glory the sur- 
rounding scenery, and came into full wew over the hills 
which were between us and the village we had just left, we 
entered again upon the north- westerly portion of the great 
plain of Esdraelon, which reaches even to the base of Car- 
mel's range. The prospect was very beautiful at this early 
hour of the morning, when the dews and mists which en- 
veloped the summits of the hills and mounts gradually dis- 
appeared, and settling in the gorges and ravines, brought out 
into bold relief the mountain-tops which were in sight on 
either hand. As we advanced, we frequently crossed rivu- 
lets and streams of some little size and depths, showing the 
abundance of water in this part of the plain, and adding 



452 



EGYPT AND THE BOLY LAND. 



very greatly to the fertility and attractiveness of the scene. 
Occasionally we passed a village or two, but they were 
small and of no account, so that I did not note their names ; 
and every little while we would mount some low hills and 
come to some lovely spot, where almost involuntarily we 
would pause a few moments and gaze in silence at what was 
spread out*before us. By and by, we reached a portion of 
that long plain which stretches away far to the north, and 
reaches from the sea-shore backward for some distance till it 
meets the hills again. Between nine and ten o'clock we 
crossed the river Kishon, that ancient river, whose waters at 
this season were quite deep, so much so as to prevent our 
fording it on horseback, without getting our feet and legs 
wet : we were nearly an hour riding, not far from the base of 
Carmel, through the high grass and weeds, and making our 
way as best we could through the marshy, wet, soft ground 
which is met with at present about a mile from the mouth 
of the river : in the wet season, the Kishon becomes a stream 
of size and force, being supplied from so many tributary 
rills in every direction ; and it is very easy to perceive how 
that the slaughter of Sisera's host might have taken place 
at this season of the year, and that the river being fall and 
strong might w^ll have done all that the song of victory 
attributes to it; — u The river of Kishon swept them away, 
that ancient river, the uver Kishon." 

At half-past ten o'clock we reached Haifa, the ancient 
Sycaminum, a town situate on the deep indentation of the 
shore of the Mediterranean north-east of Carmel, but of no 
great size or importance. The walls and castle are in a 
very bad condition, having been seriously injured during 
those troublous times when England saw fit to interfere in 
Eastern affairs, and to help the imbecile Turk to regain his 
provinces from the ambitious pasha of Egypt. Haifa as 
well as Akka was bombarded and nearly destroyed, and it 
has never recovered from the shock, notwithstanding the 



THE HOSPICE OX MOUNT CAR MEL. 



453 



consular flags and some other indications of activity in the 
town seem to point to a revival of its former commercial 
importance. Passing directly through the town, we rode 
over the beautifully verdant and fertile plain between it and 
Mount Carmel, with the sea as its north-eastern border. 
A steep pathway leads to the summit where the convent is 
situate, and it took us fully twenty minutes to make the 
ascent :* as you approach the lofty stone hospice, it looks 
grandly and imposingly down upon the hill-sides and the 
blue Mediterranean ; and when you draw near to it, and 
when actually you are on the platform of Carmel's north- 
easterly foreland, on which it is built, you are both astonished 
at the size, extent, and architectural beauty of the edifice, 
and at the patient labor and skill which succeeded against 
all obstacles in erecting a house for the wayfarer, the sick, 
and the weary traveller. We spent two days here, enjoying 
the hospitality of the good brother Clement, whose attentions 
were marked by courtesy and consideration which we can 
never forget, especially as one of our party was quite ill 
with an attack of fever. We felt, as all who have been 
here must feel, that there is no more delightful place in the 
world than this elevated, airy, and picturesque spot. The 
building devoted to the uses of travellers is very large ; it is 
most admirably furnished with all that can cheer or gratify, as 
sofas, French bedsteads, bureaus, soft beds, &c, &c. ; the 
pharmacy is of good size and well supplied with medicines, 
one of the* brothers being instructed in medical science so as 
to minister in all ordinary cases : the walks about the 
mountain-top are very pleasant : one always has a fresh 
breeze from the sea, and from every point there is always a 
lovely view of the surrounding country, or of the broad, 
deep sea whose waters ever wash the base of Carmel's Mount. 
I fear that I shall appear to be making too much of such 

* Dr. Wilson, following Schubert, gives the height of Carmel as rather more 
than 1200 ft. above the sea. 



454 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



things, if I tell you of the excellent fare which brother Cle- 
ment provides, the coffee, the eggs, the fish, the meat of dif- 
ferent sorts, the vegetables, &c. ; or if I tell you particularly 
of the delicious wine which the good monk regularly invites 
the traveller to partake of, both morning and evening, at the 
same time not forgetting to join you in the cheerful glass : I 
may not dwell upon matters of which I am almost entirely 
ignorant; but I can assure you, that I have never tasted of 
anything so perfectly superb in the way of wine as that wine 
of Mount Lebanon in which brother Clement regularly pledged 
us, and in the drinking of which we most heartily wished pros- 
perity to both him and the noble establishment on Mount 
Carmel. Believe me, we are not likely soon to forget the 
hospitalities of these two days, and we shall cherish the 
recollections of all whom we met there, at the hospice, as 
among the brightest in our whole oriental experience. 

There is something so honorable* to a venerable monk 
(whom we are sorry to say we did not see, he being ab- 
sent at the time) in connection with this edifice, that I cannot 
but occupy your attention a few moments in recording the 
main facts respecting the Hospice on Mount Carmel. At the 
time of the French occupancy of the Holy Land, now a little 
more than fifty years ago, the Carmelite monks kindly at- 
tended to the sick and wounded who were brought here ; but 
when Bonaparte was repulsed at St. Jean d'Acre, the Turks, 
exasperated against the monks, and all connected with it, 
massacred the wounded French, drove away the monks, broke 
up the convent, and left it in almost entire ruin. In 1819, 
Giovanni Battista, the monk whose name will ever be associ- 
ated with the present edifice, made a visit to the mountain, 
by order of his superior, for the purpose of seeing if it were 
not possible to restore it to its former use. Unfortunately the 
notorious Abdallah Pasha interfered, and being full of hatred 
to the Christians, and just at that time full of angry desires on 
account of a revolt of the Greeks under his dominion, he easily 



GIOVANNI BATTISTA'S DOINGS. 



455 



got permission from the Sultan to undermine and blow up the 
remnants of the previous building. This was in 1821, and as 
nothing could then be done, Giovanni returned to Rome. But 
he did not forget the desolation of Carmel, nor relinquish his 
desires to rebuild the monastery and hospice. In 1826, he 
went to Constantinople, and through the French ambassador 
obtained a firman authorizing him to rebuild the monastery. 
On reaching Haifa he found the last monk dead ; so alone he 
went to the mount, and there laid the plan for erecting a new 
edifice on its summit ; yet, he had no means, and his plan 
contemplated an outlay of 350,000 to 500,000 francs : this 
he was determined to get together, and as is well related in a 
paper given us by brother Clement, he did, in the course of 
time, obtain. For year after year, he went hither and thither 
to beg for Mount Carmel. Though at an advanced age, he 
set out and returned to the mount eleven times ; now extend- 
ing his journeyings to Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Algiers, 
Gibraltar; now visiting Beirut, Damascus, Mount Leba- 
non, Smyrna, Constantinople; and now going through the 
whole of Italy, Sardinia, Spain, part of England, and finally 
France; and he did succeed, he did gather together his 
$100,000 ; and here are the evidences of it to the whole 
world. Honor be to his name, monk though he be ; honor be 
to the good old man, though he be in subjection to Rome and 
her corrupt creed ! The sick and the wounded, the weary and 
the way-worn, the poor and distressed, all find here a resting- 
place ; and here meet with the sympathies and kindnesses of 
a home. May it ever be thus ! 

We went over the entire hospice in the course of our visit. 
From, the flat roof we enjoyed a magnificent view ; and in the 
chapel or church, built over the cave of Elijah,^ we were at 

* " Besides Elijah, his disciple Elisha had also his cavern upon Carmel; it is 
believed to be still recognizable. The number of caves and caverns, however, 
upon Mount Carmel approximates closely to 2000 ; this labyrinth of cavities 
would seem the passage to the spirits of the lower region. It may thence be 



456 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



full liberty to muse over the eventful history of the great 
prophet and his intimate connection with Carmel. We looked 
into various chambers or cells of the monks (the number of 
whom at present is very small) and made a visit to the 
library, which the attendant brother took a good deal of pride 
in showing to us. It is a good-sized room, well arranged 
with cases for the books, and very tolerably filled with theo- 
logical works. I noticed in the collection a Greek Testament ; 
a Hebrew Bible ; the Vulgate, with commentaries of Maldo- 
natus, Bossuet, &c. in twenty-eight vols. ; most of the Fathers, 
as Irenseus, Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Cyril 
of Jerusalem, Laetantius, Tertullian, Jerome, Augustine, 
&c. ; Bellarmine's works ; Baronius's Annals ; Pallavinci's 
Council of Trent ; Labbe and Cossart's General Councils : 
controversial works ; Jesuits' Bodies of Divinity ; Lives of 
the Saints; &c, &c. I fear, however, that the library is 
more of a show-room than anything else, and that the books 
are not kept for use or study, so much as to be able to say 
that they have such and such volumes. I may be wrong, 
but I believe that the present race of monks everywhere do 
not trouble books much anyway. In the dining-room, we 
amused ourselves with looking over the " Travellers' Book," 
which contains some very *odd, some very silly, some very 
proper things, and which lets one into the real characters of 
visitors more perfectly than by any other process. During the 
evening, we had a pleasant party of friends, who unexpectedly 
came in upon us ; and we kept up an animated conversation 
with Brother Clement, on various matters of public interest, 
which even in a monastery stir up the curiosity of the occu- 
pants. 

It was a source of much pleasure, and we trust profit also, 
to read over the various portions of Holy Writ relative to 

understood how this mountain became a favorite place of resort for anchorites, 
and of refuge for the persecuted." — Tischendorff's " Travels in the East," p. 
245. 



CARMEL IN ANCIENT DAYS. 



457 



Carmel ; and we hope that the impressions made upon our 
minds by this exercise will never fade away. We read about 
David, and that churlish person Nabal, whose possessions 
were in Carmel ; about the sheep-shearing, and the uncivil 
answer which Nabal sent to David's respectful message ; about 
the anger which was roused up in him, and the judicious in- 
tervention of Abigail, who prevented David from shedding 
blood in his wrath ; about Elijah, the prophet of Jehovah, 
as narrated in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of the 
first book of Kings ; and such like. O, it must have been a 
grand and imposing sight when all Israel were gathered unto 
Mount Carmel ; on the one side, the zealous servant of the 
Lord ; on the other the eight hundred and fifty mocking 
prophets of the idol Baal and of the groves. With what 
power did Elijah lift up his voice and cry unto the people, 
" How long h#lt ye between two opinions ? if the Lord be 
God, follow Him ; but if Baal, then follow him ;" and what 
dread silence was there amid that mighty mass when the 
people answered him not a word. What a day was that when 
the votaries of Baal were so signally disgraced in the eyes of 
the children of Israel ; when at the prayer of Elijah the Lord 
manifested His power ; when the people fell on their faces and 
exclaimed, " The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the 
God ;" and when, at the command of the zealous avenger of 
God's truth, the prophets of Baal were seized every one of 
them, and their blood mingled with the waters' of the Kishon, 
that ancient river, which some four hundred years before had 
been sanguine with the overthrow of Sisera's host. 

Yesterday morning, the 25th inst., we bade adieu to our 
friends in Carmel, and took our departure for Tyre. The 
day was cloudy and windy, and when we had descended the 
hill-side, crossed the fertile plain, and reached the sea-shore, 
the white-capped surges beat upon the bank with a ceaseless, 
and, to my ear, not unmusical roar. At half-past eight, we 
reached the mouth of the river Kishon, which enters the Med- 

20 



458 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



iterranean at no great distance from Carmel. At present it 
is not a large stream, although the water is rather deep : our 
luggage and our various articles and equipments were carried 
over in a large scow-boat; the horses, mules, and donkeys, 
were expected to swim across ; but they seemed to have no 
disposition to do so : the horses and mules snorted and plunged 
about, and refusing to enter the water, dashed off in a regular 
stampede over the plain ; the donkeys brayed, and, with the 
peculiar obstinacy of the brute, even when they were pushed 
into the water, they would not swim to the other side. 
It was an amusing, though vexatious scene, to witness the 
efforts made by the noisy Arabs, and the singular want of 
tact and skill in getting the animals over a petty stream of 
water. After an hour's delay, we all, men and donkeys, suc- 
ceeded in getting across, just in time to be caught in a tre- 
mendous shower, and to gallop over the sandj* beach in a 
storm. Saving the unpleasantness of a wet ride, it was 
rather grand to see the heavy, black clouds hanging over the 
hills and mountains in the distance, and the Mediterranean 
surging up with more and more violence, and dashing its 
white foam far up on the beach. We followed the line of 
the shore, and at half-past eleven, arrived at the river Belus, 
which enters the Mediterranean near St. Jean d' Acre : on its 
banks, according to Pliny, glass was first found :* we man- 
aged to ford it on horseback, though not without dipping our 
feet in the water, and in a few minutes rode into the city. 

The present city of Akka bears evident marks of what it 
has suffered in past years ; for on riding into the city and 
going through it somewhat in detail, we found that consider- 
able portions of it is in ruins; the terrible bombardment 
which it underwent in November, 1840, knocked down all 
the minarets, the entire ranges of houses near the sea on the 
west, and pretty much all the massive wall ; nothing could 
stand against the iron hail which fell thick and fast upon the 

* Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xxxvi. 26. 



AKKA AT THE PRESENT TIME. 



459 



city of Akka ; nothing could be more frightful than the ex- 
plosion of the powder magazine, when not less than two thou- 
sand of Mohammed Ali's soldiers were almost instantaneously 
destroyed : and though since the peace, the citizens and gov- 
ernment have been endeavoring to repair the breaches and 
make good the damages which the city sustained, they have 
only partially succeeded, and it is still a shattered and not 
pleasant-looking town.* It is very true, however, that its 
importance in a commercial point of view has not been ma- 
terially injured, and under a better government, when Syria 
shall be under the sway of some Christian power, Akka will 
necessarily assume a high rank commensurate with its natu- 
ral advantages and facilities for trade. We trust that the 
day may not be far distant, when the crescent shall no longer 
wave over a solitary post in the Holy Land ; until then, we 
need look for no prosperity, no life, no activity, no energy in 
Palestine. The domination of Mohammedanism over Chris- 
tianity must be regarded as a judgment sent by God for the 
punishment of the corrupt and wicked churches of the East; 
when the days of vengeance are fulfilled, it will sink into noth- 
ingness and oblivion, and the cross will once more resume its 
victories and its rightful supremacy in the East. 

As our time was somewhat limited, we did not spend more 
of it than we could help in the city of Akka, contenting our- 
selves with observing such things as fell under our notice 
during the brief visit of a couple of hours.t Most of the pub- 

* " Akka is the most regularly and strongly fortified town in Syria, the key to 
which it has been long esteemed ; and its appearance is formidable both at a dis- 
tance and in its immediate vicinity. It stands upon an angular promontory jut- 
ting into the sea. The walls are in many places double, and those on the land- 
side are protected by strong out- works of mounds with facings of stone, which we 
observed were undergoing a process of repair or completion. We entered the 
town by the land-port, which is at its south-east corner, passing the soldiery on 
watch, and various guard-houses and public buildings." — Dr. Wilson's " Lands 
of the Bible; 1 vol. ii. p. 233. 

f I have seen the population of Akka rated by so"me as high as 20,000 : prob- 
ably, at the extent it does not exceed 10,000. Of these, Dr. Wilson (in 1843) 



460 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



lie buildings we passed by without examination, as the cas- 
tle, the mosks, the hospitals, storehouses, &c. ; and on one or 
two occasions, when we purposed looking at matters a little 
more closely, we were very unceremoniously ordered away 
by the Turkish officers in command. As we were walking 
through one of the streets, we came upon the monument of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, who served in the defence of 
Akka, in 1840, and lost his life in consequence of his great 
zeal and excessive devotion to the cause of the unworthy 
allies of England on that occasion : we felt indignant to no- 
tice the defilement and insult which had been heaped upon 
this marble cenotaph, by the bigoted and fanatical soldiery 
and others, who could thus forget and treat with indignity 
the monument of one who fought in their behalf. Among 
the mosks, the most curious one, in our eyes, was that of 
the notorious Jezzar Pasha ; it contains the tomb of the pasha, 
and Dr. Wilson has copied and translated the inscription on 
it, as follows : — 

"He is the Living One the Immortal. 

This is the tomb of him who requires mercy, who is needful of 
the forgiveness of the one forgiver, the Haji Ahmad Basha, the 
Butcher (Jezzar). On him be the mercy of the dear forgiver. 
A. H. 1219 (=A.D. 1804), on the 17th Muharram." 

It was a strange fancy, but from this it appears that the 
wretch, whose cold-blooded cruelties obtained for him the 
name, actually rejoiced and gloried in the title of " Butcher." 
What a singular ambition was his ! 

Early in the afternoon, we took our departure from Akka, 
leaving it, and all its reminiscences of the past, with consider- 
able regret. We should have liked to have gone over in de- 
was informed that some thirty families, or about 150 persons, were Jews: one of 
their number told him that they were " merchants, oil-men, dressers of cotton, 
pedlars, pipe-head manufacturers, fishermen, and confectioners." The number 
of the Christians of all sects is about 1000 or 1500. 



THE ROAD NORTH FROM AKKA. 



461 



tail its history, and on the spot called up the events to which 
its name points ; we should have been glad to have looked 
away back to the period when it was called Accho, and when 
the tribe of Asher did not succeed in expelling its inhabitants ; 
to have mused over its history under the Roman sway, after it 
had received the new title, Ptolemais, and was visited by the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles ; to have given play to the en- 
thusiasm which the Crusaders' chivalrous deeds excite, when 
the possession of Acre was esteemed so all-important, and con- 
tended for so many years : but the present was not the fitting 
time for these things, and so we turned away from Akka and 
resumed our journey. As we rode over the fertile plain 
which extends back some distance from the sea, we noticed a 
pretty country palace of the pasha, situate amid the trees, 
and very attractive in appearance, as well as many other 
rural residences, gardens, &o. The well-built and extensive 
aqueduct which supplies Akka with water was a very inter- 
esting object, and occupied our attention for some time ; as 
much so, at least, as the rain would permit. With occasional 
sunshine, and noticing here and there villages in the distance, 
we rode along not far from the sea-shore ; passed Ez-Zib, sit- 
uate on an ascent by the water's side, and probably identical 
in site with the Achzib mentioned in Joshua, xix. 29, and the 
Book of Judges, i. 31, and called afterwards Ecdippa ; had a 
good view of the village of Bussah, a little to the right, at 
the base of the hills, and in the midst of fertile fields and 
abundance of trees ; were struck with the lone appearance of 
a large column on the hill-side, but too far off for us to dis- 
tinguish its object or character ; and arrived at Ras en-Nakura, 
about four o'clock, where the plain of Akka may be said to 
terminate, and the hills almost to touch the very sea-side. 
We mounted the lofty and rugged hill, and though it was 
early, determined to pitch our tent, and pass the night in this 
airy position. The prospect was very fine from the point we 
had chosen, and it afforded us no little pleasure to look back 



462 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



toward Carmel, Akka, the plain, the hill-sides, the sea, and 
other points which lay spead out before us. 

The next morning, that is, the present one on which I am 
writing, we were in the saddle by six o'clock, the weather 
being cloady, damp, and showery. In about an hour's time, 
we came to a small stream, gaily rushing toward the sea, 
and having its banks covered with oleanders and other shrubs 
and plants. Soon after crossing it, the rain came clown in tor- 
rents, and gave us a thorough drenching. We stopped a little 
while at Khan en-Nakura, to get a cup of coffee, and were 
well stared at by some Turkish soldiers lounging about. In 
less than an hour, we came to a heap of rubbish, near the sea, 
which Maundrell thinks indicates " the ruins of the castle of 
Scandalium, taking its name from its founder, Alexander (the 
Great), whom the Turks call Scander. The ruin is one hun- 
dred and twenty paces square, having a dry ditch encompass- 
ing it; and from under it, on the side next the sea, there 
issues a fountain of very fair water." A little while after this, 
noticing as we advanced the evident remains of a Roman road and 
aqueduct, we came to the Promontorium Album, a high, rocky 
mount, jutting out into the sea, and very conspicuous to the 
eye, even at a distance. Its name is derived from "the color 
of its cretaceous slopes and strata, the rock here, as in other 
promontories, jutting into the Mediterranean on the south, 
being the upper white chalk." We rode up the lofty hill, 
and were gratified with a very fine view towards the north, 
where a part of the long, narrow plain of Phoenicia, and its 
proudest cities, greet the eye of the beholder, and excite his 
imagination with thoughts of the antiquity and greatness of 
that remarkable people, who once here exercised dominion. 
We had found the ascent rugged and difficult, but not danger- 
ous ; and we supposed that the descent, or passage down into 
the plain beyond, would be no more difficult, to say the least : 
but in this we were decidedly wrong ; for after a little space, 
we reached the edge of a precipice, looking down some hun- 



THE LADDER OF TYRE. 



463 



dred feet into the sea, dashing against its base, and almost 
necessarily cutting off the further progress of the traveller. 
"Were it not that the patient labor of man had here been put 
forth to surmount obstacles apparently too great for removal, 
there could be no roadway over this striking promontory ; but 
if the tradition be correct, Alexander the Great caused to be 
cut in the solid rock a broad way for horses and camels, 
which has become known and renowned by the title of the 
" Ladder of Tyre," and by which, though on the very edge of 
the precipitous rocks, he descends the long and winding line 
of steps made in their sides, as well without fear as in perfect 
safety. You will believe me, that the road over this famous 
rock-hewn way was not without its excitement ; and we felt 
all the force of that sublimity which attaches to positions such 
as this in which we were placed. " The shrieking of the sea- 
birds, that wing their way in mid air between the brow of 
this mountain and the deep sea it overhangs, whose waves 
are heard moaning faintly in the depths below, and whose 
high horizon blends itself with the sky, adds vastly to the be- 
wildering grandeur of the scene ;" and when, besides, you rec- 
ollect that the dark clouds were hanging over our heads, and 
occasionally pouring out their contents upon us, you will not 
wonder that the scene is vividly impressed upon our memories. 

Crossing Wady Ain-Tineh, which, at this season is usually 
dry in most of its course, and riding over the level tract by 
the sea-side, we arrived, at a quarter past ten o'clock, at 
Ras el-Ain, one of the most interesting spots in this part of 
Syria. The size and extent of the reservoirs, the abundant 
supply of water, the vicinity to Tyre, the remains of a large 
aqueduct, and other matters of this sort, render them well 
worthy a visit. We dismounted, and spent some little time 
here ; and while looking about, were surrounded by a troop 
of children and beggars, who were utterly unable to give us 
any information, or answer any, even the simplest questions. 
I have just been reading over Maundr ell's account of this 



464 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



locality, and though it may appear to you rather long, yet as 
it is much better and more accurate than any description 
which 1 could furnish, I shall beg your permission to quote it 
at length. " Ras el-Ain is a place where are the cisterns called 
Solomon's, supposed, according to the common tradition here- 
abouts, to have been made by that great king, as a part of 
his recompense to King Hiram for the supplies of materials 
sent by him toward the building of the Temple. They are, 
doubtless, very ancient, but yet of a much later date than what 
this tradition ascribes to them. That they could not be built 
till since Alexander's time, may be conjectured from this, 
amongst other arguments : because the aqueduct, which con- 
veys the water from hence to Tyre, is carried over the neck .of 
land by which Alexander, in his famous siege of this place, 
joined the city to the continent ; and as the cisterns cannot 
well be imagined to be more ancient than the aqueduct, so 
one may be sure that the aqueduct cannot be older than the 
ground it stands upon. Of these cisterns there are three en- 
tire at this day, one about a furlong and a half distant from 
the sea, the other two a little farther up. The former is an 
octagonal figure, twenty-two yards in diameter. It is eleva- 
ted above the ground nine yards on the south side, and six on 
the north ; and within, is said to be of an unfathomable 
deepness, but ten yards of line confuted that opinion. Its 
wall is of no better a material than gravel and small peb- 
bles ; but consolidated with so strong and tenacious a cement, 
that it seems to be all one entire vessel of rock. Upon the 
brink of it you have a walk round, eight feet broad, from 
which, descending by one step on the south side, and by two 
on the north, you have another walk twenty-one feet broad. 
All this structure, though so broad at top, is yet made hollow, 
so that the water comes in underneath the walks, insomuch, 
that I could not, with a long rod, reach the extremity of the 
cavity. The whole vessel contains a vast body of excellent 
water, and is so well supplied from its fountain, that, though 



RAS EL AIN. 



465 



there issues from it a stream like a brook, driving four mills, 
between this place and the sea, yet it is always brim-full. 
On the east side of this cistern, was the ancient outlet of the 
water, by an aqueduct raised about six yards from the ground, 
and containing a channel one yard wide, but this is now stop- 
ped up and dry, the Turks having broken an outlet on the 
other side, deriving thence a stream for grinding their corn. 
The aqueduct now dry is carried eastward about one hundred 
and twenty paces, and then approaches the two other cisterns, 
of which one is twelve, the other twenty yards square. 
These have each a little channel, by which they anciently 
rendered their waters into the aqueduct ; and so the united 
streams of all the three cisterns were carried together to Tyre. 
You may trace out the aqueduct all along by the remaining 
fragments of it. It goes about one hour northward, and then, 
turning to the west, at a small mount, where anciently stood 
a fort, but now a mosk, it proceeds over the isthmus, into the 
city. As we passed by the aqueduct, we observed in several 
places, on its sides and under its arches, rugged heaps of mat- 
ter, resembling rocks. These were produced by the leakage 
of the water, which petrified as it distilled from above, and 
by the continual adherence of new matter, were grown to a 
large bulk. That which was most remarkable in them, was 
the frame and configuration of their parts. They were com- 
posed of innumerable tubes of stone, of different sizes, cleav- 
ing to one another like icicles. Each tube had a small cavity 
in its centre, from which its parts were projected, in form of 
rays, to the circumferences, after the manner of the stones, 
vulgarly called, thunder-stones. The fountain of these waters 
is as unknown as the contriver of them. It is certain^ from 
their rising so high, that they must be brought from some 
part of the mountains, which are about a league distant, and 
it is as certain that the work was well done at first, seeing it 
performs its office so well at so great a distance of time."* 

* Maundrell's " Journey," March 21st. 

20* 



466 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



As we draw near to Sur, or all that remains of once proud 
Tyre, we could not but be struck with the remarkable fulfill- 
ment of prophecy, which declared so plainly its coming ruin 
and desolation ; and as we thought upon its past history, and 
contrasted with it its present degraded position, we felt again, 
as often indeed one must feel in the East, the truth, power, 
and exactness of the Word of God. Tyre, at one period, was 
unrivalled throughout the world ; its commerce, its resources, 
its wealth, its power, its glory, its magnificence, its splendor, 
its luxury, — ah ! where are they ? and is this which our 
eyes look upon, this mean and petty village of Sur all that 
remains of Tyre the renowned ? It is even so ; and the just 
judgments of Almighty God have fallen heavily upon it 
indeed. During the whole time that we have been here, the 
thought has pressed upon our minds of the past and the pres- 
ent, and we cannot resist the conviction that Tyre is one of 
the most startling as well as most striking monuments of Di- 
vine vengeance which the world anywhere presents. We 
have ridden over the sandy beach, as we drew nigh to it, in 
wonder at its silence and desolation ; we have looked at the 
supposed causeway made by Alexander the Great ; the old 
castle deserted and falling into decay, near the entrance of 
the town ; the heaps of ruins in every direction ; and we have 
wandered, by the hour, amid scenes which my feeble pen can 
not at all adequately describe. We have thought, that so far 
as appears at the present day, Tyre might always have been 
joined to the main land ; but doubtless, the small island on 
which it was built was at some distance from the shore in an- 
cient times ; and the glorious city reached out far beyond 
what we now see, and enclosed a space where now the waves 
of the deep blue Mediterranean dash over the remnants of broken 
columns and fallen palaces. While thus engaged, and while 
thus receiving fresh evidences of the truth of prophecy, we 
have seen the dark, threatening clouds hanging over our heads, 
the winds rising and lashing into foam the waves of the sea, 



THE VILLAGE OF SUR. 



467 



and the whole aspect of nature lowering and gloomy ; and 
though it be fanciful to associate such things with the ruin of 
ancient cities, we have felt at least that they were no unmeet 
accompaniments to a scene of unmitigated desolation. 

It is quite impossible in the brief space which I have allot- 
ted to me in the present letter, to pretend to enter at all at 
large into the many deeply interesting questions respecting 
Tyre arid its history, which are suggested by its name and 
importance in past ages. At present I can only speak of 
two or three matters, hoping at some future period that I may 
be able to take up the subject again, and treat it more fully 
and satisfactorily. The present town is small, lying on the 
north-east side of the peninsula, and evidently in a depressed 
and miserable condition : the south portion of the island (as it 
once was) is literally a mass of ruins ; and the western and 
southern sides are occupied by a few hovels amid the rocks, 
and used, in accordance with prophetic language, as places to 
spread nets upon. We walked through many of the narrow, 
crooked lanes, and thought that we had never in any oriental 
town witnessed greater filth, misery and degradation ; not- 
withstanding, here and there is a palm tree, and occasionally 
the dreariness of surrounding objects is relieved by some of 
the beautiful Pride of India trees in retired portions of the vil- 
lage. A few boats of fishermen were lying listlessly in what 
is now the harbor on the north-east, near the causeway which 
joins the island to the main land ; and as is evident, there is 
little or no commerce or trade, and no sort of activity or life 
in the town of SCtr. # While exploring the portion of the ruins 
near the present southern wall, we came unexpectedly upon 
the remains of an ancient church, which was all the more in- 
teresting to us, from our recollections of Eusebius's statements 
in regard to the famous cathedral erected or existing here in 

* Recent travellers estimate the population of Sur as high as 3000 or 4000, of 
whom about half are Christians. If I may venture to guess, having no data on 
which to base an opinion, I should say that the population did not exceed 1500 
; a all. 



468 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 




10 



J2 



a □ 

9 

a a 

it 




10 



1Z 



13 



15 



16 



EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES USED IN THE PLAN. 

1. l Ay(a rpdiTE^a, the Holy Table or Altar. 

2. The Bishop's Throne or seat ; on either hand are the seats of the Pres- 

byters. 

3. "Ayiai nv\ai, or gate of entrance to the Chancel. 

4. Cancelli or Railings. 

5. Prothesis, or closet for keeping the offerings of the people, and the bread 

and wine for the elements. 

6. Diaconicum, or recess for the Vessels for the Altar, "Vestments of the Cler- 

gy, &c. 



RUINS OF THE ANCIENT CATHEDRAL. 469 



the fourth century. Unhappily, it is now one mass of 
ruins, having only a small portion of the eastern end, or cir- 
cular chancel recess remaining, and having besides, within 
the enclosure once covered by the church, some huts and 
sheds of peasantry and pieces of broken columns and stones, 
mixed up with trees, shrubs and piles of rubbish. I spent 
some little time in examining these ruins, and was much im- 
pressed with the change which time has wrought in everything 
connected with Tyre, even in the church devoted to the worship 
and service of God our Saviour : it was curious too, to see 
lying prostrate amid the ruins two immense columns of Sye- 
nite granite, and to speculate upon their possible connection 
with either the grand temple or church near by, or with some 
one of the gorgeous edifices which once adorned this great 
city. I dare not pretend to affirm positively that the ruins 
of a church which we visited are of so early a date as the 
fourth century ; yet as there is nothing impossible or improb- 
able in the supposition that they may date thus early, I 
prefer to think that they are indeed the remains of that splen- 
did cathedral which was built by Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, 
and honored by the presence of Eusebius, who preached the 
consecration sermon. If you will turn to the tenth book of 
the author's Ecclesiastical History, you will find in the fourth 
chapter the " Panegyric on the Splendor of our Affairs," 



7. The Naos or Nave of the Church. 

8. Porticoes for the men, with Galleries above for the women. 

9. Ambo or Reading Desk, where the Holy Gospels were read. 

10. Place of the Faithful and the Consistentes. 

11. Place for the Prostrators (yiromirrovres), or those who knelt or prostrated 

themselves to receive the Bishop's blessing. 

12. " Railings, with the upaTai Trv\at, or Gate of Entrance into the Nave* near by- 

was the place of the hearers. 

13. r >.o\vtfi.6pa, the baptisterium or font. 

14. Narthex, pronaos or ante-temple. 

15. Place of the Catechumens. 

16. Place of the Mourners. 

7. Great Porch or Vestibule in front of the Church proper, and open to the sky. 



470 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



addressed by Eusebius, on the occasion above alluded to, " to 
one who was the best and most pious of bishops, and by whose 
zeal, principally, the temple in Tyre, by far the most noble in 
Phoenicia, was built." It is well worth perusing. I have 
thought, also, that you might like to have the Ichnography 
of the ancient temple or church of Tyre, which, if it answers 
no other purpose, will serve to illustrate the arrangements of 
the church in the fourth century, and to make more plain 
some points in Christian antiquities, not always clearly under- 
stood by the readers of ecclesiastical history. 

It was a deeply interesting occupation to sit down, as we 
did, near the gate of the city, under a shady tree, and read 
the various portions of Holy Writ respecting Tyre, particu- 
larly the passages out of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah; not 
less interesting was it to call to mind the history of the past, 
and to note how exactly the judgments denounced against it 
have been fulfilled. Perhaps you will give me your attention 
to a brief abstract of the history of Tyre. It was a very an- 
cient city, undoubtedly, being mentioned in the book of 
Joshua (xix. 29) as "the strong city Tyre;" and Josephus 
says that it was built two hundred and forty years before the 
temple of Solomon. The best authorities are not agreed 
whether it stood originally on the island or on the main land, 
though the latter is the more common opinion. Bishop New- 
ton supposes — and I think not unreasonably — that while old 
Tyre stood on the main land, the island at the same time was 
occupied, and formed in fact an integral portion of the city as 
a whole. It is termed by the prophet Isaiah (xxiii. 12) the 
"daughter of Sidon," in allusion to the fact that it was 
founded by a colony from that city, though ere long it out- 
rivalled that very ancient home of the Phoenicians, and be- 
came the most celebrated place in the world for trade, com- 
merce, and wealth: hence it is termed "a mart of nations, 
the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traf- 
fickers are the honorable of the earth." In consequence of 



THE HISTORY OF TYRE, 



471 



its pride, arrogance, luxury, and vices of various descriptions, 
and because of its insults and injuries towards God's people, it 
was denounced by the prophets of Jehovah, and its destruction 
foretold in the plainest terms. More than a hundred years after 
Isaiah wrote his prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
laid siege to Tyre, and after a long, toilsome, and excessively 
fatiguing siege of thirteen years, took it and laid it in ruins. 
This, as is probable, was the city on the main land, the Tyri- 
ans having mostly withdrawn to the island while the siege 
was going on, and thus in measure escaped the severity of 
the enraged conqueror, who does not appear to have captured 
the island likewise : this was in the year B.C. 573 ; and after 
this date Palae Tyrus does not seem to have held any rank 
or importance in history. After the fall of the Babylonian 
monarchy, about seventy years from the date of its capture, 
the city resumed its pristine power and greatness ; but con- 
tinued on the island, and is the Tyre spoken of in the early 
writers; the former city was never rebuilt. Its destruction 
was foretold again by Ezekiel and the other prophets: and 
accordingly Alexander the Great laid siege to it, and after in- 
credible labor and enterprise, constructing a causeway out of 
the ruins of Palae Tyrus and assaulting the city with engines, 
in seven or eight months he succeeded in taking the proud 
metropolis of commerce. Most bitter was the punishment 
inflicted on it for resisting the great conqueror; he burnt it 
down to the ground, destroyed or enslaved all the inhabitants , 
and barbarously crucified two thousand of the captives : this 
was about B.C. 332. Notwithstanding this terrible blow, 
Tyre gradually rose again from its ruins, and after Alexan- 
der's death, was a strong fortress in possession of the Seleu- 
cidae : subsequently it fell under the dominion of the Romans, 
and appears to have been a place of some note and import- 
ance. Our Lord visited this section of country ; and at a 
later date St. Paul landed here, and finding some disciples, 
tarried in Tyre seven days. Though not what it once was, 



472 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

the city seems to have enjoyed a large commerce under the 
empire, and St. Jerome speaks of it as the noble and beauti- 
ful city of Phenicia. It was taken by the Saracens about 
A.D. 639, during the khalifate of Omar, and is said to have 
possessed a considerable trade under the Mohammedan rule. 
It was taken by the Crusaders, A.D. 1124, and continued in 
the hands of Christians a city of importance and strength, 
until A.D. 1291, when the Mamelukes seized upon it, plun- 
dered it of everything valuable, and left it in a dreadful state 
of misery and degradation. In 1516 it fell into the hands of 
the Turks under Selim ; and ever since that date it has been 
sunk in ruin and deprived of all its wealth, grandeur, and 
importance. So that, though the vengeance of God is some- 
times long delayed, it is none the less certain ; and His word 
is exactly and literally true, and has been for hundreds of 
years, when He said of Tyre, " They shall destroy the walls 
of Tyrus, and break down her towers ; I will also scrape her 
dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall 
be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea : 
for 1 have spoken it, saith the Lord God :" — " I will bring 
forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and 
I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all 
them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the 
people shall be astonished at thee : thou shalt be a terror, and 
never shalt thou be any more."* 

As we finished reading the prophetic word, and noting its 
precise fulfilment, we turned away from the scanty remains 
of haughty Tyre with mingled emotions of sadness, sorrow, 
and self-abasement ; and we breathed an earnest aspiration 
that our beloved city and country may take warning, and 
remember always that " righteousness exalte th a nation ; 
but sin is a reproach to any people."! 



* Ezek. xxvi. 4, 5 ; xxviii. 18, 19. 



t Prov. xiv. 34, 







LETTER XXII. 

SttJotx— aScfrut atiti tts Uf cftrt t^* 

Uncertainty of our Future Plans.— Route from Sur.— Leontes Flumen.— Adlan or Ornithon- 
polis— St. George's Khan— Mound and Ruins of Zarephath.— Village of Surafend.-Passed the 
Night on the Mound.— Scriptural Recollections.— Heavy Rain Storm.— Cloudy, Damp, Wet 
"Weather.— Columns and Roman Mile-stones.— Syrian Sheep.— Saida as one approaches it.— 
Its Situation. — Place of rather more Consequence than Tyre. — Excursion through the 
Town.— Its History.— Vicinity.— Road Northwardly not of muoh Interest.— Cross the Bos- 
trenus.— Khan Neby Yunas.— The River Tamyras.— Mountains and Villages.— Sandy Cape 
of Beirut.— Enter it Late in the Afternoon— Pleasant Environs.— What we have been 
Doing.— The Mission of Americans here for Syria.— Their Press.— Sentiments as to their 
Course and probable Success.— Avowal of Opinion on this Point.— Who only can meet 
with Success among Eastern Christians. — Concluding Remarks on the Holy Land in Gen- 
eral—Hope for the Future.— A Word or two to the Reader. 

Beirut, May 5th, 1849. 

My Dear S., 

It is now more than a week since I addressed you in a pre- 
vious letter, written while we were musing over the fallen 
greatness of Tyre, the proud metropolis of the commercial 
world in ancient times. Since then, we have extended our 
journey northwardly, even to the point where I am now writ- 
ing, and whence, probably, we shall embark again for Europe. 
Our plans are not perfectly matured, and sickness has inter- 
fered materially with our wishes and hopes. Mr. P., as well 
as myself, is very anxious to visit Damascus, which, indepen- 
dently of its being the oldest city in the world, has attractions 
to the lover of oriental things not surpassed, if equalled, by 
any city in the East. We should be delighted, also, to visit 
the cedars of Lebanon, and go over the monumental wonders 
of Baalbeck : but it may be, that circumstances over which 



474 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



we have no control, may prevent our accomplishing our pur- 
poses in these particulars. I will, however, advise you of 
the result at as early a date as possible. Meanwhile, allow 
me to tell you of what has transpired since we left the vicinity 
of Tyre. 

We took our departure from Sur on the afternoon of the 
26th of April, and following the road not far from the shore, 
in a north-easterly direction, and leaving the high, broken 
arches of the ancient aqueduct on our right, we reached the 
Nahr el-Kasimieh in the course of an hour and a half. We had 
been riding through the rain, which at times fell very copious- 
ly ; and we were not surprised to find the river swollen and 
turbid. We crossed this stream, identical with the ancient 
Leontes Flumen, over a bridge of one arch, apparently con- 
structed on the remains of a more ancient bridge, the river 
being some seventy or eighty feet in width near the sea, 
and quite unfordable. Dr. Robinson says, that "it is the same 
stream which, under the name of el-Litany, drains the great 
valley of el-Buka'a, between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and 
then breaks down through the sea, by a mountain gorge at 
the south end of Lebanon."* The learned author notices also 
the baseless tradition, that it was in this river that the Em- 
peror Frederick Barbarossa was drowned, in June, 1190 ; the 
fact being, that this distinguished warrior lost his life in a 
river in Cilicia, at the date above mentioned. We met with 
numerous wadys or beds of rivulets, which just at present 
were swollen by the rain, but all of them were shallow and 
easy to ford. About an hour and a half from the Leontes, 
brought us to the site of Adlan, which is now a confused mass 
of ruins on the sea-shore, and several old walls. It is marked, 
on Robinson's map, as identical with the Ornithonpolis of 
Strabo; but that is merely conjectural. As we rode along 
close by the water's edge, we were much interested in watch- 
ing an Arab, wading out among the rocks, and searching for 

* " Biblical Researches" vol. iii. p. 409. 



ZAREPHATH OR SAREPTA. 



475 



sponge, if I mistake not. The fishery of this article, I may 
mention, according to Bowring's report, extends along the 
Syrian coast to the north, from Tripoli to the Latakia juris- 
diction, and is a branch- of commerce not unworthy attention. 
Passing the villages in sight on the heights above the road, 
which here runs near the base of the hills, and noticing a num- 
ber of grottoes cut in the rocks, which, however, we did not 
stop to examine, we came, in less than half an hour, to Khan 
el-Khudr, or St. George's Khan, a saint, by the way, whom 
we find very often in the East, and who is revered nearly as 
much by the Mohammedans as by the Christians. A few 
minutes later, we reached a spot more interesting, though of- 
fering but few traces of antiquity on which to build the 
opinion usually entertained by travellers respecting its name 
and character ; and as it was already very late, we determin- 
ed to pitch our tent here for the night. We accordingly 
ascended a large mound, which is about midway between the 
shore and the hills on our right, and which has some remains 
of foundations and walls, indicating the site of an ancient 
town. On the southern slope of the adjacent hill is a village 
of good size, with two or three welys, and termed by the 
Arabs Surafend, which seems to point to the ancient Zare- 
phath or Sarepta of the Bible. Maundrell, speaking of this lo- 
cality, says, " The place shown us for this city (Sarepta) 
consisted of only a few houses on the tops of the mountains, 
within about a half a mile of the sea ; but it is more proba- 
ble the principal part of the city stood below, in the space 
between the hills and the sea, there being ruins still to be 
seen in that place, of considerable extent." In the lapse of 
time, it is not unlikely that the cultivation of the ground, and 
the gradual accumulation of soil, may have covered up some 
of the remains which Maundrell saw in his day — about a hun- 
dred and fifty years ago. While here, we carefully perused 
the portions of Holy Scripture relative to Zarephath, particu- 
larly that interesting chapter which tells us about Elijah, the 



476 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



great prophet, the widow of Zarephath, the barrel of meal and 
the cruse of oil, the sickness and death of the widow's son, 
the raising him again to life, &c. We read also, in this con- 
nection, of our Lord's visit to this section of country, and the 
miracle which He graciously performed upon the Syro-Phe- 
nician woman's daughter. Our tent was pitched in the 
middle of a large ploughed field, and, saving occasional ruins 
of other days, and the knowledge of the fact that Zarephath 
was certainly somewhere near this spot, we should have pass- 
ed over all these remains as not needing examination. During 
the evening and night, it rained in torrents ; and had not our 
tent been a very excellent one, we should have suffered severely 
from the superabundance of wet and damps. As it was, the rain 
came in a little, and the ground under foot was rendered soft, 
very adhesive, and very disagreeable. I hardly know how the 
poor Arabs stood it ; but excepting some additional streaks of 
dirt, and a rather more than usual cadaverous expression of 
face, they seemed, the next morning, to be as well as ever, and 
bustled about with uncommon activity. Probably, the pros- 
pect of bakhshish, which they hoped soon to receive, had a 
soothing effect upon their tempers and feelings. 

We did not wait for our luggage on the morning of the 27th, 
but at a very early hour, before sunrise, were in the saddle, 
intending, if possible, to reach Beirut that day. The weather 
was cloudy, damp, and rather unpleasant, and the roads were 
wet and muddy. Our course lay principally over the plain 
between the sea and the hills, and for several hours before ar- 
riving, we had the city of Saida in full view ; at a distance, 
it looks very picturesque and beautiful, in the midst of a thick 
grove of trees. Passing the fountains noticed by Dr. Robin- 
son, and a number of small wadys fringed by oleanders in 
bloom, at half-past seven we came to the Nahr ez-Zaherany, 
a stream just now quite deep and turbid, but not difficult to 
ford. We saw here the remnants of a bridge, and not far off 
lay a Roman mile-stone. Between this and Saida we met 



THE PRESENT TOWN OP SAIDA. 



477 



with a number of ancient pillars and Roman mile-stones at in- 
tervals. Maundrell has copied the inscriptions on two of them, 
which fix the date to the time of Septimius Severus and Per- 
tinax. I had half a mind to see what I could make out of 
the inscriptions, being something of a dabbler in that sort of 
vexatious literature ; but I spare you any account of what I 
undertook, which is by far the wisest course, since I need not 
confess, that I utterly failed in doing anything worth men- 
tioning. As we approached Saida, we rode through a very 
pleasant avenue of large acacias and tamarisks ; saw a number 
of gardens and pretty rural residences ; and were much inter- 
ested in looking at some Syrian sheep, with their immense 
broad tails ; since they served to call up most forcibly recol- 
lections of our school-boy days, when we used to read out of 
old Herodotus, that passage which speaks of these same sheep 
of Syria. Little did I think, then, that I should ever behold 
them in reality, on their native plains ! 

The city of Sidon is situate on a small promontory, which 
stretches out rather to the north-west, for a little way into 
the sea. As I have said, its appearance is rather striking at 
a distance, and the venerable castle of ancient days, and the 
square tower, or citadel, with several mosks and public build- 
ings, give it an air of importance perhaps beyond what it 
really deserves. We entered the town by the gate near the 
north-east corner, where the guard of soldiers for the quaran- 
tine is stationed, and near to which are some rude cafes for 
the troops and others who wish to smoke or lounge away their 
time in the listless idleness of an oriental life. The streets 
are narrow and crooked of course, but the houses are better 
built, and the lanes better attended to, in most respects, than 
in Tyre. The port is small, and contains only some boats ; 
though a little farther out, were some two or three vessels of 
larger size, riding at anchor. Many of the best houses in the 
town are built immediately over or on the wall which is on 
the eastern side of the promontory, on which Saida stands. 



478 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



We found the bazaars very fairly supplied with the usual 
commodities ; and on the whole, considerable bustle and ac- 
tivity seemed to pervade them. In the course of our explora- 
tion, we visited several khans, or wekalehs, as the Arabs 
termed them. Dr. Robinson says, that there are six of these 
in Saida, for the use of merchants and travellers. We went 
into the court of the largest khan, and looked about us with 
much interest : it formerly belonged to the French factory 
and consulate, and still goes by the name of its former own- 
ers. It is a large square building, about a hundred and fifty 
feet in length on its sides, and has within the quadrangle a 
fountain and basin in very good taste, and covered galleries 
all around. It owes its erection to the celebrated emir, Fakhr 
ed-Din, the prince of the Druses, about the beginning of the 
seventeenth century ; he was the patron of European com- 
merce, and particularly well-disposed towards the French ; 
but instead of going into details, I must refer you to old 
D'Arvieux's Memoires for full particulars. The result of our 
examination of Saida led us to the conviction, that it is a 
place of more consequence than at first appears; though 
Beirut will probably prevent its ever assuming any position 
of consequence in a commercial point of view. Its popula- 
tion is probably about five thousand ; two- thirds of these be- 
ing Mohammedans, the remainder made up of Christians and 
Jews. 

Sidon undoubtedly ranks among the most ancient cities of 
the world, and is mentioned in the Pentateuch, as well as in 
the Iliad and Odyssey.^ Its history is marked by the usual 
incidents of times of peace, prosperity, luxury, vice, indolence, 
war, and subjugation. About B.C. 350, it was taken and 
sacked by Ochus, King of Persia : subsequently, when it had 

* Gen. x. 19; xlix. 13; II. vi. 289; xxiii. 743; Odyss. xv. 415; xvii. 424. 
Justin (xviii. 3) gives the Hebrew name the signification, "fishery" or t! fish- 
town;" Josephus (Antiq, Jud. i. 6. 2) derives its name from Sidon, the eldest 
son of Canaan (Gen. x. 15). 



ANTIQUITY OF SIDON. 



479 



regained some of its former glory and wealth, it opened its 
gates to Alexander the Great, and thereby escaped the fate 
which fell so heavily upon its daughter, Tyre. Under the 
Romans it was an opulent city ; and it enjoyed large trade 
and commerce in the time of our Saviour, who visited the 
regions of Tyre and Sidon (Matt. xv. 21; Mark, vii. 24). 
St. Paul also found some brethren here, on his way to Rome 
(Acts, xxvii. 3). Early Christian writers speak of it as an 
important city. During the times of the Crusaders it fared 
variously, being sometimes in the hands of the Saracens, and 
sometimes in those of the Christians. Since the end of the 
thirteenth century it has been mostly in ruins, and of little 
consequence, notwithstanding Fakhr ed-Din gave a new im- 
pulse to its trade, and in some degree revived its ancient im- 
portance. Jezzar Pasha drove out the French in 1791 ; 
sinpe which date the Arabs have managed its trade in their 
own way, — and that, from what you know of their characters 
and habits, is a wretched way, indeed. 

We left Saida between nine and ten o'clock, and bent our 
steps towards Beirut : I have already alluded to its pleas- 
antness of appearance and the character of its environs ; 
but Dr. Robinson expresses all that need be said on this 
subject so well in the following passage, that I beg to quote 
it for your gratification: " The beauty of Saida," he says, 
"consists in its gardens and orchards of fruit trees, which 
fill the plain and extend to the foot of the mountains. The 
city and tract around are abundantly supplied with water, 
by aqueducts and channels which conduct it from the Auly 
and other smaller streams as they issue from the mountains. 
The environs exhibit everywhere a luxuriant verdure, and 
the fruits of Saida are reckoned among the finest of the 
country. Hasselquist enumerates pomegranates, apricots, 
figs, almonds, oranges, lemons and plums, as growing here 
in such abundance as to furnish annually several ship-loads 
for export ; to which D'Arvieux adds also pears, peaches, 



480 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

cherries, and bananas, as at the present day. At the foot 
of the mountains are many ancient excavated sepulchres."* 

The road between Saida and Beirut does not offer many 
points of interest : I shall, therefore, pass it over with a 
brief notice of the few things needful to record. In less than 
an hour's time we reached the Nahr el-Auly, identified by 
Dr. Robinson with the ancient Bostrenus : like the other 
streams we had met with, it was considerably swollen with 
rain and brought down a large volume of water to the sea. 
Its vicinity is full of oleanders, lilacs, fig-trees, &c, which 
add very much to the interest and beauty of this "graceful" 
river. Soon after this, the lofty peaks of Lebanon began to 
loom up very grandly as we advanced, and the Phoenician 
plain may be said here to terminate, inasmuch as the hills 
now draw close to the sea-side, and the road beyond passes 
over a sandy beach and rocky points jutting out into .the 
Mediterranean. For several hours we skirted along the 
sea-shore ; passing over some remains of an ancient Roman 
road ; stopping a little while at the Khan Neby Yunas, near 
to which is the white-domed wely of the prophet Jonah, 
who, say the Arabs, was here cast out of the fish's belly 
upon the dry land; crossing the Nahr ed-Damur, the an- 
cient Tamyras or D amour as ; and about three o'clock ar- 
riving at the broad sandy cape of Beirut. On our right, we 
saw a large Maronite Convent on a lofty hill, which in the 
distance appeared well; indeed, the range of hills which 
extend along this region some few miles from the sea is 
not wanting in picturesqueness, so far as the view is con- 
cerned, and many a village on the slopes or heights of the 
hills attracted our notice, inducing us to believe that they 
must be superior to those which we had seen and entered in 
other parts of the country: the facts of the case would not 
warrant this opinion, since these towns and villages are neat, 
pretty, and thriving, only as seen in the distance, and not in 

* " Biblical Researches" vol. iii. p. 420. 



IMPORTANCE OF BEIRUT. 



481 



reality. While traversing the cape of Beirut, we were 
struck with the contrast between the hills and heaps of sand, 
driven up by the winds and waves, and the vast olive grove 
not far to the right between us and the mountains beyond. 
Beirut itself appeared in sight, between four and five o'clock ; 
and together with the very numerous villages on the plain 
and the neighboring mountain-sides, the suburban residences, 
villas, and gardens, the groves of mulberry trees, etc., pre- 
sented a scene of no little beauty and interest. We entered 
the city, and passing through several streets, we took up our 
quarters at the Hotel D'Europe, on the sea-shore, and not far 
from the American Consulate. 

The next day we paid off and discharged our muleteers, 
having been on the whole satisfied with their deportment 
and fidelity, and not having met with any losses, so far as 
we know, from any fault of theirs. Since then we have 
been occupied in various ways, making excursions in the 
vicinity of Beirut, visiting some friends and countrymen, 
and making preparations towards our ultimate departure for 
Europe. Of Beirut itself I need not say much ; we have 
found it a pleasant place in many respects, though rather hot 
and sultry ; the environs are particularly agreeable, and most 
of the Franks have their dwellings outside the walls of the 
city ; and it is a thriving and bustling city of some twelve 
to fifteen thousand inhabitants. One or two matters in con- 
clusion are all that I shall venture to trouble you with. 

Beirut is the central point of operations for the American 
missionaries in Syria. They form a band of active, acute, 
energetic men, and by many years' labor and care have 
acquired an influence which seems destined to tell with great 
force upon the future prospects of this land. On various 
accounts, I have taken some, pains to cultivate the acquaint- 
ance of such members of the mission as are resident in Bei- 
rut ; have visited their press and mission-house here ; and 
have made many inquiries respecting their success and their 

21 



482 



« 

EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



hopes for the future. Most of my intercourse has been with 
the Rev. Mr. Thompson, whom I have found to be an open, 
straightforward man, well acquainted with Eastern life and 
character, and capable of judging in points of difficulty with 
clearness and decision. I have attended one of their reli- 
gious services, and am informed that the congregation, com 
posed of natives converted to Protestantism, is flourishing 
and gives promise of abundant harvest. The press estab- 
lishment is very interesting, and it afforded me no little 
pleasure to go over it in detail, under the pilotage of Mr. 
Thompson. It is quite large, has a very excellent supply 
of Arabic type of different sizes, which are made by the 
head- workman in the office ; and all their printing and bind- 
ing are done under the same roof. Mr. Thompson very kindly 
presented me with a few specimens of their workmanship, 
which, I assure you, is far superior to anything done else- 
where in the East, and quite equal to the books issued in 
Paris and London. The press has been in operation about 
ten years, and there have been printed, besides portions of the 
Bible, a number of controversial works translated from the 
English into Arabic, several native and other grammars, 
arithmetics, &o. &o. Just at present, Mr. T. assured me 
that, as one of the fruits of their long and severe labors, 
there is an active spirit of inquiry afloat among the young 
men of the city, who are determined to submit no longer to 
the dictation of ignorant priests and a corrupt Church ; and 
not only do they mean to throw off all allegiance to the 
Church itself, but they intend to carry the war into the 
enemy's country by getting up a newspaper, which shall be 
the organ of their sentiments and the means of breaking- 
down the influence of the clergy in general over the people. 
You will readily understand what a powerful means this 
may prove in the hands of competent persons to attain the 
end desired. It is a further question whether this be really 



AMERICAN MISSIONS IN SYRIA. 



483 



desirable, or whether the influence of the mission can in this 
way best be exerted. 

For my own part, I frankly avow my opinion that missions 
from the various religious bodies who contribute to the sup- 
port of the gentlemen laboring in Syria can never be produc- 
tive of permanent results. I was astonished to learn how 
little had, after all, been done, notwithstanding the efforts of 
wise and learned and faithful men in Syria ; and when to 
this I added the conviction that the system which denies the 
constitution of the ministry to be in three orders, bishops, 
priests and deacons, must labor under immense disadvantages 
among persons devoted to this dogma as an essential of faith, 
and must effect a radical change in a people whose every 
author and every institution points to this threefold constitu- 
tion of the ministry, as much as to the most important doc- 
trine in the Creed, I felt that the labors of my countrymen 
were in considerable measure without effect, and would 
never accomplish the end on which their hearts are set. I 
believe, most honestly, that no laborers in that field can be 
successful, permanently and effectively, who are not to some 
extent agreed with the Eastern Christians, and more particu- 
larly in this very matter of the organization of the Church ; 
for being myself convinced that the Eastern branch of the 
Catholic Church is, notwithstanding its many corruptions and 
its schisms and dissensions, right in this one article, viz. : the 
constitution of the Church, I am confident that they who 
begin with a denial of this, and seek to convert the Orientals 
to Protestantism, in its very simplest form, cannot ultimately 
succeed : to seek to remove the corruptions, to wipe away 
the stains, to cut off the diseased parts, to breathe soundness 
and vigor into the whole body, is indeed a noble work ; and I 
doubt not the Oriental Churches are open to labors for this end, 
as much so as could be wished or expected. Yet, if there be 
not an agreement with them as to the foundation on which 
the Church rests, and as to what it is, immense will be the 



484 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



difficulty, and almost nothing the result in the end. And it 
deserves to be well weighed by Protestants at home, that no 
mission of theirs to the Oriental Christians has succeeded to 
any extent commensurate with the means, the men, the time 
devoted to their conversion or restoration to the purity and sim- 
plicity of Gospel truth : may it not properly be asked, — are 
we ever likely to succeed any better ? are our efforts be- 
stowed upon a field of labor from which we shall reap any 
harvest ? are we really and truly doing God's work in thus 
seeking to effect a change in the corrupt Churches of the 
East, from their ancient Apostolic constitution to the system 
known only among us Protestants ? and shall we not have to 
abandon the field to those who, agreeing with the Orientals 
in their views of the ministry, are ready to carry to them the 
words of exhortation, the truths of Holy Scripture in all their 
depth and fulness ? 

I venture to throw out these remarks for your considera- 
tion, my dear S., as well as for the benefit of some of our 
Presbyterian and Congregationalist friends, who have desired 
my opinion, being willing to trust to my candor : they are 
penned in no spirit of unkindness, nor with any of that nar- 
rowness of bigotry which refuses to acknowledge good any- 
where but among ourselves. I repudiate and abhor such a 
spirit. I acknowledge, and beg particularly to state, that 
much good has been done in Syria by the American mission ; 
Beirut and all this district feel and know how much has been 
done for the cause of education, and for the benefit of the poor 
both bodily and spiritually ; and the community in general 
are deeply indebted to the quiet but firm influence for good 
order, sobriety and religious truth, exerted by our countrymen 
in the city and neighboring mountainous districts. For these 
things I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice ; but I hold it to be no 
more than my privilege to say frankly, and yet decidedly, that 
I am apprehensive that with the good they have done are 
mingled the seeds of evil, which will spring up yet to trouble 



PROBABLE RESULTS IN THE EAST. 



485 



the peace of the Church and produce harm instead of good. 
The unsettling of the minds of a body of people ; the insen- 
sibly leading them to undervalue and despise the authority 
and office of the priesthood ; the setting them afloat on the 
sea of private judgment, exposed to shoals, rocks and quick- 
sands ; the exciting of hatred on the part of the constituted 
ministers of the Church ; the giving Orientals our learning 
without their having naturally or by education our checks 
and balances ; the rendering them prone to doubt, if not dis- 
believe, because they find so many points which others regard 
as settled and sure, utterly baseless, as they now think ; and 
such like ; appear to me to be grave and serious things, and 
almost necessarily resulting out of the attempts to convert 
the Orientals to Protestantism, instead of striving to purify and 
remove the corruptions of the Eastern churches, on the basis 
of the Episcopal constitution of the body of Christ. Time 
will at least show whether these sentiments be wrong or not ; 
meanwhile I trust that our own Church will not be negligent 
of her duty in these matters ; for I am thoroughly persuaded 
that it must be mainly through her agency and that of the 
Church of England, that error shall be removed and corrup- 
tion taken away from the Eastern Churches ; and the Scrip- 
tures be brought to light, studied, read, understood, acted 
upon ; and the clergy be rendered duly alive to their sacred 
office and duly fitted for their sacred functions, in this inter- 
esting portion of the one body of Christ Jesus our Lord. God 
grant that the day of renewal may not be far distant ! 

I shall not, at this time, undertake to tell you of our ex- 
cursion to the Nahr el-Kelb, or Dog River, the Lycus of the 
ancients, with its interesting mementoes of other days — its 
inscriptions, caves, sculptures, &c. ; neither shall I enlarge 
upon general matters connected with our stay in Beirut; but 
with a word or two as to the impressions left upon our mind 
by our visit to Palestine, I shall close the present letter. 
"Whether it shall be my privilege to write any more after this 



■ 



486 EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 

date, is quite uncertain, and depends upon some contingencies 
over which I have no control. One thing, however, is certain, 
that I can never forget the profound and solemn interest of the 
last few months, during which we have looked upon so many 
scenes, and beheld so many things, which must ever move the 
sympathies and deepest emotions of the Christian's heart. The 
Holy Land will be to me, henceforth, like a thing of life, a 
real, veritable experience of God's justice, long-suffering, and 
compassion, and a perfect demonstration of the truth and ex- 
actness of His Holy Word. The lights and shades of our pil- 
grimage, the aspirations of our souls, the many, many recol- 
lections of the past — our dangers, our preservation, our enjoy- 
ments — all will now be sacred in our estimation; and we 
shall cherish the memory of the weeks and months thus spent 
as among the choicest and best of our whole lives. The sug- 
gestive intimations of the "sure word of prophecy," like a light 
shining in a dark place, will henceforth be clearer than ever 
to my mind, and have a greater significancy in my eyes than 
they have heretofore assumed ; and I verily believe, that God 
is intending, in His wise Providence, to effect the return of 
His people to the Holy Land, to pour out again upon it His 
choicest blessings, and to make it once more the glory of all 
lands, when the chosen descendants of Abraham shall ac- 
knowledge their guilt, turn and cling to the Messiah, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and become the preachers of His Gospel unto 
the ends of the earth. The way — if we may venture to speak 
thus of the future — is preparing for such a result. The im- 
posture of Moh ammed is fast sinking into ruin and disgrace ; the 
Turks are losing their power and influence ; and the Christian 
nations of the West, as they are but agents in the hands of 
the Supreme Ruler of the universe, so they are, unconsciously 
it is true, yet only waiting the time when He shall see fit to 
sweep away every vestige of Mohammedanism, and plant 
anew the banner of the cross on every hill- top and tower of the 
Holy Land. The door has been opened, too, for labor among 



HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 487 

the decayed and corrupt Churches of the East ; and I doubt 
not that the influence of intercourse with the pure branch of 
the Church in the "West, education, science, the diffusion of 
the Holy Scriptures, the elevation of the people in a political, 
social, and moral point of view, the training of the clergy in 
the sound doctrines of the Church in its best days, will produce 
the effect so much to be desired ; and God, in His mercy, will 
revive these long-decayed and almost lifeless branches ; will 
pour out His Spirit anew, and will render His Church in the 
East as glorious for its soundness, obedience, purity, and 
power of godliness, as it ever was in the days of its Apostles, 
martyrs, and holy men of old. O, that I might live to see 
such results as these ! and that I might be permitted to be- 
hold the contrast between the trodden-down and well-nigh de- 
stroyed inheritance of the father of the faithful, as it is now, 
and the once more glorious and restored land and people of 
God! 

But let us not be " ignorant of this one thing, that one day 
is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
as one day." Our eyes may never see the change which we 
daily pray for, but it will, nevertheless, certainly take place ; 
for every word of Holy Scripture is true, and cannot fall to the 
ground ; every promise therein contained will and must have 
its exact fulfilment. "Whether it please God to hear the cry of 
His people now and send deliverance, or whether it be ages hence, 
it is none the less sure and steadfast that deliverance will be sent, 
retribution will come upon the enemies of God's truth, and the 
whole world will see and know that it is the Lord who rules 
in the affairs of men, and that He is the same yesterday, to- 
day, and forever. Wherefore, let us comfort one another with 
these words, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in our 
hearts. Let us hope in God, who never faileth them that put 
their trust in Him ; and let us commit our souls to Him, in 
well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Amen. 



488' 



EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND. 



Such, gentle reader, were the concluding words of the last 
letter written in the Holy Land. Our wanderings extended 
no further than to the neighborhood of Beirut ; Damascus, 
Lebanon, Baalbeck, and other points of interest which lie 
along the shore of Palestine, we were compelled to omit. 
Imperative circumstances called Mr. P. and myself home- 
ward, and within a day or two after the above was written 
we left Beirut in the French steamer for Alexandria. For 
six days, we lay in the harbor of that city waiting for the 
Overland mail ; and on the evening of May 16th, we arrived 
at Malta, in company with our friends, Dr. Wainwright and 
Mr. Minturn ; here we performed five days' quarantine in 
the pleasant and well-provided lazaretto attached to this 
important naval station. On the 22d ult., we embarked 
again, and parting with our friends at Civita Vecchia, we 
visited Rome, crossed the Alps, went through Switzerland, 
down the Rhine, and so to England. Mr. P. took the 
steamer and reached home sooner than I did. On the 2d of 
July, I embarked from London, in the packet ship Westmin- 
ster, and after a rather long passage, on Friday, the 10th of 
August, I was restored in safety, and with renewed health 
and vigor, to my family and friends. To God's Holy Name 
be ascribed all the praise and glory for this and all other in- 
stances of His compassion and goodness. 



APPENDIX. 



It may be convenient to have, in a concise shape, the views of the 
ablest chronologers, on the points involved in the discussion on page 
60, and the following pages ; it will be useful also for various portions 
of the preceding volume. 





Hebrew, Vul- 
gar Account. 


Hebrew, Uss- 
her's Acc't. 


Samaritan. 


Septuagint, 
Alexandrine. 


Josephus, as 
cor. by Hales. 




A. M. 


B. C. 


Inter 


A. M. 


B. C. 


Inter 


A.M. 


B. C. 


Inter 


A.M. 


B. C. 


Inter 


A. M. 


B.C. 


Inter 


Creation, . . . 
Deluge, .... 
Call of Abraham, . 
Exodus, .... 
Founding of the ) 
temple of Sol'n. s 
Destruction of do. 
Birth of Christ, . 


1 

1656 
2018 
2448 

2928 


3760 
2104 
1742 
1312 

832 


1656 
362 
430 

480 


1 

1056 
2083 
2513 

2992 


4004 
2348 
1922 
1491 

1012 


1656 
426 
430 

480 


1 

1307 
2384 
2814 

3294 


4305 
29!(!i 
1921 
1491 

1011 


1307 
1077 
430 

480 


] 

2262 
3469 
3894 

4495 


5508 
3246 
2039 
1614 

1013 


2262 
]207 
425 

601 


1 

2256 
3318 
3764 

4184 


5411 
3155 
2093 
1648 

1027 


2256 
1062 
445 

621 


3338 
3760 


422 


410 

422 


3396 
4004 


588 


424 

588 


3718 
4305 


587 


424 
587 


4919 
5508 


589 


424 
589 


4825 
5411 


586 


441 

586 



NOTE TO PAGE 61. 

"It is hardly credible, that Josephus meant seriously to maintain 
that the Jews are the Hyksos, for not only is he altogether silent on 
this subject in his Jewish history, but the supposition itself is irrecon- 
cileable with the historical truth of the books of Moses. It is not im- 
possible, however, that he may have surmised a certain connection be- 
tween the Hyksos and the Jews, and their wanderings, — a connection 
which we believe capable of being now so clearly demonstrated, that we 
may anticipate the probability of there being not a few persons who will 
be disposed to return to the opinion of Josephus. In our judgment, 
there is no better grounded hypothesis, than that of the affinity of race 
between the Hyksos and the Jews — but none more inadmissible than 
that of an identity between the expulsion of the one, and the Exodus 
of the other." — Bunsen's "Egypt's Place in Universal History," vol. 
i. p. 193. 

21* 



490 



APPENDIX. 



NOTE TO LETTER IV., p. 11, &c. 

During our voyage up and down the Nile, I made regular thermo- 
metrical observations every day ; as they are of some interest, I have 
copied them off, and insert them in the Appendix. 

Tuesday, December, 26th, 1848. 
On board the " Ibis," at Bulak, 9 p. m., 65° Fahrenheit. 

Wednesday, December 21th. 



8 A. M. 


52° 


weather partly clear. 


12 M. 


60° 


cloudy. 


4 P. M. 


59° 


do. 


8 P. M. 


5li° 


do. 


wind to-day,— 


-made only 


six miles from Cairo. 




Thursday, December 28th, 


8 A. M. 


55° 


clear and pleasant. 


12 M. 


69° 


cloudy. 


4 P. M. 


68° 


rainy. 


8 P. M. 


60i° 


cloudy. 


wind, — made seven or eight miles. 




Friday, 


December 29th. 


8 A. M. 


48° 


a little cloudy. 


12 M. 


58° 


showery. 


4 P. M. 


58° 


do. 



8 p. m. 55° cloudy. 

Head wind ; 11%, met an American boat ; afternoon, a side wind for 
two hours. 

Saturday, December 30th. 

8 a. m. 44° mostly clear. 

12 m. 57° do. do. 

4 p. m. 56° cloudy. 

8 p. m. 48° do. 
Strong head wind all day. 



APPENDIX. 



491 



Sunday \ December 31st. 



8 A. M. 


52° 


slightly cloudy. 


12 M. 


58° 


clear. 


4 P. M. 


62° ' 


do. 


8 P. M. 


58° 


do. 



Head wind again to-day. 

Monday, January 1st, 1849. 



8 A. M. 


52i° 


cloudy. 


12 M. 


61° 


do. 


4 P. M. 


58° 


clear 


8 P. M. 


53° 


do. 



Head wind in general ; met an English boat at 1 p. m. ; passed the 
false pyramid. 



January 2d. 

8 a. m. 45° clear nearly all day. 

12 m. 61° do. do. 

4 p. m. 65° do. do. 

8 p. m. 59£° do. do. 



No wind in general. 



Wednesday, January 3d. 



8 A. M. 


47° 


clear weather. 


12 M. 


62° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


66i° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


56° 


do. do. 



Light head wind all day; at 1\ p. m., arrived at Benisooef, 77 miles 
from Cairo. 

Thursday, January 4th. 

8 a. m. 48£° clear, light wind. 

12 m. 66° do. do. 

4 p. m. 78° do. and very warm. 

8 p. m. 59° do. 

Made about 12 miles; stopped at sunset at the village of Mala- 
hieh. 



492 



APPENDIX. 



Friday, January 5 th. 

8 a. m. 48£° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 68° do. side do. 

4 p. m. 70° do. fair do. 

8 p. m. 56° do. wind died away. 

Made about 25 miles to-day; laid up at Meghaga on W. bank 
wind sprung up in the nigbt ; after two hours' sail, brought up on 
a sand bank, and were enveloped in thick fog. 

Saturday, January 6th. 

8 a. m. 42° dense fog, no wind. 

12 m. 67° clear, do. 

4 p. m. 71° do. light wind. 

8 p. m. 58° do. do. 

Fog rose at 9 a. m. 

Sunday, January *lth. 

8 a. m. 45° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 58£° do. head do. 

4 p. m. 69° do. no do. 

8 p. m. 56° do. do. 

Laid up at a village 10 miles N. of Minieh. 

Monday, January 8th. 

8 a. m. 55° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 66° do. light head wind. 

4 p. m. 67° do. do. 

8 p. m. 58£° do. do. 

Arrived at Minieh at evening, 160 miles from Cairo. 



/, January 9 th. 
8 a. m. 47° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 63° do. head do. 

4 p. m. 69° do. westerly wind. 

8 p. m. 57° do. do. 

Left Minieh at 1 1 a. m. ; passed Beni Hassan at 4-£ p. m. 



APPENDIX. 



493 



January 10 th. 

8 a. m. 52° clear, head wind. 

12 m. 66° do. do. 

4 p. m. 68° do. westerly wind. 

8 p. m. 49° do. light do. 

Made only about 6 miles to-day. 



Thursday, January 11th. 

8 a. m. 49° cloudy and misty, no wind. 

12 m. 69° clear, head wind. 

4 p. m. 69|° do. do. 

8 p. m. 60° do. do. 

Rain during night and this morning ; laid by several hours because of 
head winds. 



Friday, January 12th. 



8 A. M. 


49° 


clear, no wind. 


12 M. 


66i° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


69° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


59° 


do. do. 



Nights damp and rather chilly. 



Saturday, January ISth. 



8 A. M. 


50° 


clear, head wind. 


12 M. 


64° 


• do. do. 


4 P. M. 


66° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


61° 


do. do. 



Progress very slow against head wind and current. 



Sunday, January 14th. 

8 A. m. 52° clear, head wind. 

12 m. 68° do. westerly do. 

4 p. m. 70° do. do. 

8 p. m. 58° do. do. 

Passed Manfalut at 2 p. m. ; arrived atEs-Siout at 5 p. m., 254 miles 
from Cairo. 



494 



APPENDIX. 



Monday, January 15 th. 



8 A. M. 


47£° 


misty, and westerly wind. 


12 M. 


64° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


65° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


58° 


clear, do. 



The Reis chose this as his day for baking bread ; so remained all-day 
at Es-Siout. 

Tuesday, January, 16 th. 



8 A. M. 


55° 


cloudy, light wind. 


12 M. 


61° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


63° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


61£° 


do. do. 



Left Es-Siout at 10£ a. m. ; made about 15 miles. 



Wednesday, January 1*1 th. 

8 a. m. 57° cloudy and misty. 

12 m. 64° clear, a little wind. 

4 p. m. 68° do. do. 

8 p. m. 48° do. do. 

Made about 24 miles to day ; evening very raw and chilly. 

Thursday, January 18 th. 
8 a. m. 41° clear, good wind. 

12 m. 57° * do. strong do. 

4 p. m. 63° do. do. 

8 p. m. 5l£° do. no wind. 

Passed Girgeh at 4 p. m. 

Friday, January 19 th. 

8 a. m. 49° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 64° do. do. 

4 p. m. 68° do. fair wind. 

8 p. m. 50° do. light do. 

River very winding to-day; saw the first crocodile at 3 p. m. ; ex- 
changed salutes with an English boat. 



APPENDIX. 495 



Saturday, January 20th, 



8 A. M. 


48° 


clear, light wind. 


12 M. 


69° 


do. no do. 


4 P. M. 


67° 


do. light do. 


8 P. M. 


51° 


do. no do. 


Made about 10 miles to-day. 






Sunday, January 21st. 


8 A. M. 


48i° 


clear, fair wind. 


12 M. 


73° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


71° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


58° 


do. do. 


Arrived at Kineh at 10 a. m., 


416 miles from Cairo ; left at 2 




Monday, January 22d. 


8 A. M. 


49° 


clear, no wind. 


12 M. 


62° 


cloudy, wind S. W. 


4 P. M. 


61° 


do. head wind. 


8 P. M. 


51° 


clear, do. 


Lay aground from 12 till 6 p. 


m. ; strong head wind blowing. 




Tuesday, January 23d 


8 A. M. 


50° 


clear, 1ST. W. wind. 


12 M. 


69° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


66° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


56° 


do. no wind. 



Arrived at Luxor at 10 a. m., 464 miles from Cairo ; stopped only 
two hours. 

Wednesday, January 2kth. 

8 a. m. 48° clear, light wind. 

12 m. 64° do. no wind. 

4 p. m. 74° do. do. 

8 p. m. 56° do. fair wind. 

Arrived at Esneh at 4 p. m., 496 miles from Cairo. 



496 



APPENDIX. 



Thursday, January 25 th. 



8 A. M. 


58° 


clear, fair wind. 


12 M. 


73° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


66° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


57° 


do. do. 



Passed Edfoo at 5 p. m., 526 miles from Cairo. 



Friday, January, 26 th. 

8 a. m. 51° cloudy, light wind. 

12 m. 70° clear, strong do. 

4 p. m. 66° cloudy, do. do. 

8 p. m. 56° clear, light do. 

Passed Hagar Silsilis at l-£ p. m., 548 miles from Cairo ; showery 
during the day ; laid up some time at Kom Ombo and visited the 
ruins. 

Saturday, January, 27 th. 

8 a. m. 48° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 70° do. good do. 

4 p. m. 80° do. do. 

8 p. m. 64° do. do. 

Aground from 8 A. m. to 12 m. ; arrived at Aswan at 10 p. m., 590 
miles from Cairo. 

Sunday, January 2,8th. 

8 A. m. 50° clear, very hot day. 

12 m. 78° do. (105° in the sun). 

4 p. m. 76° do. do. 

8 p. m. 65° do. do. 

Laid up at Aswan to-day ; no boats at the place. 



/, January 29th. 

8 a. m. 50° clear and hot. 

12 m. — : do. do. 

4 p. m. — do. do. 

8 p. m. 58° do. do. 

Spent the day at Philae and the Cataracts. 



APPENDIX. 



497 



Tuesday, January 30th. 

8 a. m. 51° clear, light N. wind. 

12 m. 69° do. do. 

4 p. m. 75° do. do. 

8 p. m. 62° do. do. 

Left Aswan at 11a. m., on the way downward ; got aground in the 
night. 

Wednesday, January 31 st. 

8 a. m. 60° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 75° do. do. 

4 p. m. 76° do. head wind. 

8 p. m. 62° do. do. 

Hagar Silsilis at 10 a. m. ; spent two hours there; Edfoo at 7 p. M. ; 
visit to the temple by moonlight. 





Thursday, February 1st. 


8 A. M. 


54° 


clear, no wind. 


12 M. 


77° 


do. strong ahead. 


4 P. M. 


76° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


64° 


do. do. 


Esneh at 11 a. 


m. ; spent the day there. 




Friday, Feb, 


ruary Id. 


8 A. M. 


55° 


clear, strong head wind. 


12 M. 


68° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


66° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


58° 


do. do. 


Lay up by the shore all day, on account of the strong head wind 



off at evening, and arrived at Luxor at 2 a. m. next day. 

Saturday, February 3d. 

8 a. m. 52° clear and hot. 

12 m. 70° do. 

4 p. m. 67° do. 

8 p. m. 60° do. 

West bank, Medinet Habu, &c, to-day. 



498 



APPENDIX. 



Sunday, February Uh. 



8 A. M. 


50° 


clear, westerly wind. 


12 M. 


69° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


10° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


62° 


do. do. 



Col. Outram and Mr. R. S. Poole took tea with us this evening. 

Monday, February 5th. 

8 a. m. 48° partially overcast. 

12 m. — do. 

4 p. m. 12° do. 

8 p. m. 60° do. 

Visited the tombs, &c, on west bank. 

Tuesday, February 6th. 

8 a. m. 49° clear and hot, N. W. wind. 

12 m. — do. do. 

4 p. m. 63° do. do. 

8 p. m. 50° do. do. 

Three American and four English boats now at Luxor. 

Wednesday, February 1th. 

8 a. m. 48° clear, pleasant, &c. 

12 m. — do. do. 

4 p. m. 67° do. do. 

8 p. m. 50° do. do. 

Spent the day at Karnak. 

Thursday, February 8th. 

8 a. m. 51° clear, N. W. wind. 

12 m. 64° do. do. 

4 p. m. 61° cloudy, do. 

8 p. m. 5 7° clear, do. 

Again at Karnak ; got off at 9 p. m., down the river. 



APPENDIX. 



499 



Friday, February 9 th. 

8 a. m. 53° cloudy, head wind. 

12 m. 57° do. do. 

4 p. m. 54° do. . do. 

8 p. m. 51° clear, do. 

Made very little to-day, on account of the head wind ; Kineh at 2 
a. m., next morning. 

Saturday, February 10th. 

8 a. m. 42° clear, no wind. 

12 m. — do. do. 

4 p. m. 62° do. do. 

8 p. m. 53° do. do. 

Visited Dendera to-day ; got off at 9£ p. m. 

Sunday, February 11th. 



8 A. M. 


43° 


clear, head wind. 


12 M. 


63° 


do. do. 


4 p. m. 


65° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


48° 


do. do. 



Monday, February 11th. 



8 A. M. 


48° 


cloudy, head wind. 


12 M. 


63° 


rainy, do. 


4 P. M. 


60° 


cloudy, do. 


8 P. M. 


51° 


clear, do. 



Severe blow between 9 and 12 m. ; lay up by the bank all day, and 
got off at 6 p. m. ; passed Girgeh at 1 p. m. 



Tuesday, February ISth. 

8 a. m. 44° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 62° do. head wind. 

4 p. m. 64° do. do. 

8 p. m. 54° do. do. 

Aground frequently. 



500 



APPENDIX. 



Wednesday, February 14th. 



8 A. M. 


44° 


clear, head wind. 


12 M. 


64° 


do. do. 


4 P. M. 


60° 


do. do. 


8 P. M. 


49° 


do. do. 



Passed Es-Siout at 9 a. m. ; much impeded by head wind all day \ 
passed Manfalutin the night. 



Thursday, February 1 5 th. 

8 a. m. 45° clear, strong N. wind. 

12 m. 58° do. do. 

4 p. m. 61° do. do. 

8 p. m. 50° do. do. 

Severe blow all day ; made but little progress. 



Friday, February 16th. 



8 A. M. 


46° 


cloudy, 


no wind. 


12 M. 


64° 


do. 


do. 


4 P. M. 


62° 


clear, 


do. 


8 P. M. 


54° 


do. 


do. 



10 A. m., Beni Hassan; Minieh at 3 p. m. 



Saturday, February 1*1 th. 



8 a. m. 44° clear, no wind. 

12 m. 67° do. light wind. 

4 p. m. 68° do. do. 

8 p. m. 52° do. do. 

Benisooef, about 1 in the night. 

Sunday, February 18 th. 

8 a. m. 48° clear, light wind. 

12 m. 63° cloudy, do. 

4 p. m. 62° rainy, do. 

8 p. m. 50° cloudy, do. 



APPENDIX. 



501 



Met Dr. Wainwright's and Mr. Minturn's boat going up to Thebes ; 
also, another American boat ; head wind all day ; rained considerably 
between 4 and 6 p. m. 

Monday, February 19 th. 

8 a. m. 46° cloudy and disagreeable. 

12 m. 50° do. do. 

4 p. m. 49° do. and strong N. wind. 

8 p. m. 48° do. do. 

Wind came up about 9 a. m. and blew us up against the bank ; 
could not move at all ; very uncomfortable day ; got off at evening, and 
some time early on the next morning, February 20th, we arrived at 
Bulak, after nearly two months' absence. 

Note. — The thermometer hung in the open air, in the alcove in 
front of the cabin, exposed to the winds which blow more or less 
all the time on the Nile. On shore, the temperature was much 
warmer (as a general thing), and some days the mercury rose to 110° 
and 115° in the sun, during our excursions. The evenings, on the 
whole, were damp and chilly ; and sometimes even when the mercury 
indicated 65° to 70°, the air was raw and disagreeable on the water. 
But, with these exceptions, the trip is one of the most delightful and 
instructive which can be imagined. The total expense, including bakh- 
shish (an indefinable but important portion), amounted, for our party 
of three persons, to a little over $500. 



NOTE TO PAGE 399, 400. 

A Pilgrim's Certificate. 

I subjoin the original, more as a curiosity than for any value belong- 
ing to it. The Latinity is rather crabbed, though on the whole quite 
respectable for the monks of Terra Santa. 

IN DEI NOMINE AMEN. 

Omnibus, et singulis prgesentes litteras inspecturis, lecturis, vel legi 
audituris fidem, notumque facimus Nos Terrse Sanctse Custos, .E. Jesje- 
um Ames Spencer, Presbyterum Ecclesi^e Catholics Ameri- 



502 



APPENDIX. 



can^e, Jerusalem feliciter pervenisse die 5 Aprilis Mensis, 1849, inde 
subsequentibus diebus prsecipua Sanctuaria, in quibus Mundi Salvator 
dilectum populum suum, imo et totius humani generis perditam conge- 
riem ab inferi servitute misercorditer liberavit, utpote Calvarium, ubi 
Cruci affixus, devicta morte, Cceli januas nobis aperuit ; SS. Sepulcbrum, 
ubi Sacrosanctum ejus corpus reconditum, triduo ante suam gloriosissi- 
mam Resurrectionem quievit, ac tandem ea omnia Sacra Palestine 
Loca gressibus Domini, ac Beatissimse ejus Matris Mariae consecrata, a 
Religiosis Nostris, et Peregrinis Visitari solita, visitasse. 

In quorum fldem has scripturas officii nostri sigillo munitas per Sec- 
retarium expediri mandavimus. 

Datis apud S. Civitatem Jerusalem ex Venerabili nostro Conventu 
SS. Salvatoris. 

Die 12 Mensis Aprilis, Anno D. 1849. 
De Mandato Reverendiss. in Christo Patris, 

Fr. Antonius a Transfiguratione, 

Terrae S'tae Pro-Sec's. 

NOTE TO PAGE 405. 

I subjoin an interesting passage, from a distinguished oriental scholar, 
respecting the miracle wrought by Joshua, which, if it serve no other 
purpose, will show how the Jews interpret the passages of Holy Writ, 
relative to this wonderful display of Divine power. 

" We will now proceed to investigate another most important point 
of this period of Jewish philosophy ; one which, through the ignorance 
of translators and commentators, has bid fair to eclipse its whole sys- 
tem, and to throw all the science of the ancient Hebrews into shade : 
it is no less than the sun, according to our translators, standing still at 
the command of Joshua. I shall proceed to show you, that the text 
of this important passage says no such thing ; and that the error has 
crept in through the unphilosophical conceptions which its translators 
have formed of their original." 

After quoting the original words, the author goes on to say : 

" Oar translators have expressed this, — 'Then spake Joshua to the 
Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the 
Children of Israel ; and he said, in the sight of Israel, " Sun, stand thou 
still upon Gibeon ; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." And the 
sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged 



j Locus / 
1 Sigilli f 



APPENDIX. 



503 



themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of 
Jasher ? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not 
to go down about a whole day.' 

" Now, it is essential to our rightly understanding this passage, to 
examine both the Hebrew and the English word for sun. The Hebrew 
language, in accordance with strict philosophical principles, has three 
names for sun. The English has also three, but they are compound 
terms, thus — solar orb, solar flame, solar light ; yet we unphilosophically 
use the word sun in all these senses : we say the sun is round, the sun 
is powerful, the sun is obscured, though we mean the solar orb is round, 
the solar flame is powerful, the solar light is obscured. This philosoph- 
ical accuracy exists, however, primarily in Hebrew. The solar orb is 
expressed by no compound term : the word bin expresses this significa- 
tion ; so Siatt the solar flame or fire ; so likewise, ttJam, the word used 
by Joshua, the solar light. This is also extended, as far as philosophi- 
cal propriety demands, to the moon. We find, in Hebrew, two names 
applied to this planet, tt5^> the ' disc' orb ' or,' and mi the fight reflected 
from it : heat not being one of its qualities, we find no word expressive 
of the lunar flame or fire. That the sense of WEtt} and mi is solar and 
lunar light, is not only evident from a multitude of places in Scripture 
where these words occur, but also from the passage of Joshua itself : 
for, if we translate UJttti), ' solar orb,' 1 solar flame,' or ' sun,' or mi, ' lu- 
nar orb' or ' moon,' the one must have rested upon Gibeon, the other in 
the valley of Ajalon. This indeed would be an extraordinary system 
of philosophy — the sun resting upon a mountain, and the moon in a 
valley. All this, however, is fully explained by following the philo- 
sophical idea of the original, in which the solar and lunar light is stayed 
from advancing and receding upon the opposite hemispheres of the 
globe, not by the agency of the sun, but by that of the earth itself." — 
"Lecture on the Philosophy of the Jeivs" by Arthur Lumley Davids. 
Lond. 1833, p. 9. 



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